A Test of Fortitude
by XPGamer
Summary: A mission gone wrong. A re-assignment that can either break him or give him strength. His outlook irreversibly altered. Naruto doesn't know what to think anymore, the only thing he DOES know is that he has to change. Rated-M just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**This idea came to be due to a conversation in one of the forums. "What if Sasuke had died early in the story?" was the basic scenario. From there, of course, it turned into "He would commit suicide" "Itachi went too far and killed him" and so on. I decided to try my hand at this and this is what I came up with. Sorry for any grammatical mistakes or plot-holes. I literally took the idea, brainstormed on it for a while, and started writing. **

**This is set during the Wave Arc, right as they are confronted by Zabuza.**

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><p>"Hatake Kakashi, I never thought this mission would have me crossing paths with someone like you" The tall man, who stood on the hilt of the large sword that was buried deep into the tree, stated. The mirth in the man's voice was clear as day, even for someone as slow as Uzumaki Naruto or as sheltered as Haruno Sakura.<p>

The Konoha-jounin narrowed his lone visible eye as he stared up at the man that was easily recognizable as... "Momochi Zabuza, "Demon of the Hidden Mist"..." Kakashi grit his teeth at the unexpected arrival of such a high-ranking nuke-nin. If he had been on his own then he would've have worried as much but with the civilian client and the three genin posing such easy targets...not to mention the fact that he hadn't been on a real mission in nearly 4 years...

Pushing up his hitae-ate, Kakashi moved his free arm to the side gesturing the three genin to back away as well as verbally warning them "Protect the client and keep back, this fight is out of your league."

"Heh, showing your infamous Sharingan-eye so early? I feel honored" Zabuza chuckled as he let himself fall down behind his blade, grabbing onto the hilt and pulling it from the tree with ease. Once his weapon was free the nuke-nin simply vanished before reappearing in the middle of the lake that was only a dozen yard away.

"My target is the old-man, but it seems...' Zabuza started as he brought up his arms, one hand in front of his face while the other was extended straight upwards. The Konoha team and the bridge-builder watched as the mist around them began to grow thicker '...that that I'll have to beat you first, Sharingan no Kakashi. Kirigakure no jutsu!"

Upon activating the jutsu, the mist surrounding the area instantly thickened into a dense blanket which practically blinded the Konoha team. Kakashi had quickly moved in front of his team and the client, glad that they had at least stayed in the diamond-formation he had taught them. Seeing this, the Hatake began to formulate his strategy, he never noticed how his mind's-eye entered a tunnel-vision as he focused only on finding Zabuza and ending the mist-technique.

"Eight choices...' a distorted voice echoed, causing the three genin to tense which only grew worse as a heavy sense of danger began to settle upon them ' lungs, liver, spine, clevical vein, neck vein, brain, kidneys, heart. Which one should I go after?" Kakashi's eyes narrowed and he instantly vanished as he rushed the source he had pin-pointed not realizing what the consequences of this decision would be. As soon as his calming presence had vanished each of the three genin reacted in their own way.

Uzumaki Naruto was an orphan. As any orphan of Konoha can tell you, after much pressure and/or reassurance, a Konoha orphan spends at least a year of their lives on the streets. Sometimes less, sometimes more, but they always spend enough time to learn what "true horror" really is. Uzumaki Naruto was one of the very few who could, if he ever admitted it, say that he had spent more than two years on the streets. That would be as much as he would ever willingly admit, however, but it would still paint the precise picture needed for this moment. Though he was intimidated by the oppressing aura that Zabuza was exuding, he was not afraid. He had lived in fear for a long time before entering the academy and learning how to defend himself. He had also been face to face with a being whose aura dwarfed the Kiri-nin's a thousand fold. In short, Uzumaki Naruto remained where he was for the simple fact that he had no clue what to do.

Haruno Sakura was born from a civilian family. She was a first-generation shinobi. The closest that Sakura had ever come to experiencing fear was when she believed that she would never have a friend when she joined the academy. Once Yamanaka Ino had befriended her and had given the pink-haired girl her confidence, Sakura had become a whole new person. While she could still become intimidated or even afraid she would, instead of showing her true emotions, lash out in anger. The biggest example of this was her response to any and all of Naruto's advances. She had never once given thought to pushing herself in training, to actually breaking a sweat and trying to become stronger. For Haruno Sakura, if she was ever in trouble then _'Sasuke-kun'_ would come to save her, and that was all she needed to know. So, now, when she was under the affects of Zabuza's KI, she did what any weak-willed person would do in the same situation, she reached for her kunai and attempted to _'make it all stop'_

Uchiha Sasuke was an orphan. The reason for Sasuke's orphan-status, however, were far different from Naruto's. As most in Konohagakure, and the rest of the Elemental Nations, knew; Uchiha Itachi had massacred the entire Uchiha clan single-handedly, leaving only himself and his younger brother as the sole survivors. Of course Sasuke's nightmare didn't end there, Itachi had also nearly turned his mind into mush via the use of the Tsukiyomi technique. The Tsukiyomi, a high-level genjutsu that can only be used by those with the Mangekyou Sharingan. Sasuke had been forced to relive the deaths of every single one of his Uchiha brethren for seventy-two hours. It seemed like some cosmic joke that the 'seventy-two' hours happened inside of a second, it had all but broken Sasuke and had left him unconscious in the hospital for two weeks.

The young Uchiha had seen so much in such a short period of time that his mind had never fully recovered from it, while he would never have admitted to it, he was not prepared for a mission outside the village that had a chance of encountering a battle. He was not prepared for his sensei's rotten trick by pretending to be killed by the Demon Brothers, he was not prepared for the client's real story, he was _not_ prepared for Zabuza's KI. He absently noticed that Naruto had moved towards Sakura and was shouting about something, he didn't care though. All he cared about was ending this nightmare, he could hear his mother's screaming for Itachi to stop. He could see the bodies of his clansmen laying in pools of their own blood. He could see his brother staring down at him and calling him weak and _'too pathetic to kill'_. He wanted it to stop, all of it, and he wanted it to stop now.

Naruto cursed when he saw what Sakura was doing, while he didn't really know _why _she was doing it, he definitely realized what her intentions were. He quickly moved forward and tackled her to the ground, grabbing hold of the kunai she had been moving towards her own neck and trying to wrestle it from her grip. He noticed that Sakura wasn't even looking at him and she tried to regain control of the sharp-edged weapon and did the only thing he could think of.

**Slap!**

Sakura blinked as she held her stinging cheek and blearily stared up at the blonde who was still on top of her. Letting him help her to a sitting position, Sakura looked around and almost screamed in shock when she saw that Tazuna was right next to Naruto staring at her worriedly. Breathing a sigh of relief at seeing a familiar face Sakura turned back towards Naruto but ended up looking over his shoulder and passed him to a dark figure that had caught her eye. She watched in morbid fascination as the figure brought up something towards it's head, stood there for a second and then collapsed forward with an audible '_thump'_

Instincts forced Sakura to push Naruto out of the way and jump to her feet, as fast as she could, she scrambled towards the figure hoping to Kami and any other god listening that her thoughts were wrong. Naruto, who had all but forgotten the life-or-death situation he and his team were in, stood up alongside Tazuna then pouted in his female teammate's direction. _'what do I have to do to get her attention?' _he idly wondered. His thoughts were instantly cut by a heart-stopping scream.

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><p><strong>xKonoha - Council Chambersx<strong>

"Thank you Uzumaki-san, that will be enough" Mitokado Homura stated as he and his fellow counsellors finished writing on the files in front of them.

The young blonde simply nodded, showing absolutely no emotion. To all that looked upon him, he seemed dead.

"Now, at this point in the report, you were unaware that Genin Uchiha Sasuke was attempting the same action that Genin Haruno Sakura was?" Homura questioned.

Naruto stared back "Yes. I saw Sakura trying to...do _that_ and I reacted, I didn't even turn towards Sasuke and I completely forgot about the client." Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage, sighed when he heard the blonde admit that. While he knew it was hard for Naruto to admit his failings, and thus this was a step in the right direction to maturity, the aging leader also knew that in this case, it would've been better if Naruto had simply lied or left certain parts out. The only thing that stopped Naruto from being punished was the fact that the client had lied and the _'easy C-rank mission'_ had turned into an A-rank. No genin team would've been able to handle that situation, nor should they be.

"Hm. What moment, exactly, led you to utilizing the Kyuubi's chakra?" Naruto's eyes widened a bit before his memory reminded him that both he and Kakashi had reported what Naruto had done in response to the death of his teammate. The blonde slowly looked up and stared into the eyes of the elder advisor, not realizing how much of his pain he was visibly sending towards Homura. "It after I knew Sasuke was..."

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><p><strong>xWavex<strong>

The blonde spun around and gaped, wide-eyed, at the scene before him. Though he couldn't see his male teammate, the sight of the pink-haired girl leaning over Sasuke was more than enough to paint a perfect picture in his mind. He was next to Sakura before he knew it and was frantically shaking Sasuke by the shoulders.

"Wake up Teme! Now's not the time to sleep!" He shouted shakily. His voice trembling as much as his hands despite the death-grip he had on the Uchiha's shirt.

The sound of laughter followed by a thud sounded through the air and the two genin were quick to turn around only to find the Kiri-nin standing calmly over the decapitated form of Tazuna. The eyebrow-less man looked towards the genin, but before he could move his view was blocked by the reappearance of Kakashi. Their sensei was bleeding slightly from his right arm and he was breathing was hard, despite the small urging from both genin for their sensei to help Sasuke, the man did not turn around to face them. Had they seen his face they most likely would've fainted from fear.

Hatake Kakashi cursed his soul to the deepest depth of hell. He mentally berated himself long and hard for his failure, not only had he allowed his unprepared genin team to take a C-rank mission, but he had allowed them to continue it once it was apparent that the mission should've been given a higher classification. The arrival of the Demon Brothers should've had Kakashi leading his team back to Konoha, the arrival of Momochi Zabuza should've had him calling upon all his years of experience in ANBU and under the tutelage of Namikaze Minato. All those years participating in a war, those memories of his lost teammates, the memory of his lost sensei. All of this should've had him inside Zabuza's guard within a single moment and dispatching the man.

This, of course, did not happen. Kakashi wasn't known as "Sharingan-no-Kakashi" for no reason, ever since gaining the Sharingan he had limited himself to simply copying his opponents before finally bringing them down. So long had it been since he was in ANBU that he no longer simply killed an enemy and moved on. He had believed himself to be an "elite" just as the village proclaimed him to be, a "genius" that was nearly without equal. He had allowed his ego to do all the thinking for him and thus he was punished. The man with the mixed-matched eyes stared hard at the Kiri missing-nin. He would not turn towards his students because he knew he would falter. Sasuke was dead. He knew this and there was nothing he could do about it. He had allowed himself to be occupied by a Mizu-bunshin and hadn't even thought about checking on his students to ensure they were okay after being put under the effects of Zabuza's KI. He had absently registered that Naruto had saved Sakura from Sasuke's fate and the Hatake was grateful for at least that much; now, playtime was over.

"Not going to say anything, Hatake?' Zabuza chuckled, raising his sword into a casual position. 'Kubikiribocho is a bit thirsty for more of your blood. That drunkard's was crap compared to yours." The former member of the Seven-Swordsmen frowned when Kakashi didn't answer. In an instant both men vanished, reappearing a split-second later, their positions reversed and their backs to each other.

Kakashi sighed as he lowered his headband over his eyes and turned to face Zabuza "May you rot in hell Zabuza, and learn what a true 'demon' really is" As if punctuating his statement, Zabuza collapsed to his knees, the large sword clanging to the ground.

Naruto and Sakura stared in shock at how easily their sensei had taken down Zabuza, their shock was short-lived however when a rain of senbon peppered the ground all around them forcing Naruto to grab Sakura and run for cover while Kakashi deftly knocked the ones closest to him away.

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><p><strong>xKonohax<strong>

Naruto stopped talking and looked towards Kakashi who simply nodded. They both knew this was about the point where Naruto's mind had ceased functioning, so to speak. The Hatake stepped forward allowing his genin to move back a few paces.

"I had been vaguely aware of a second presence in the surrounding forest but wasn't sure what to make of it. The battle had taken all of my concentration and I, admittedly, had tuned everything else out. When Zabuza went down, I believe his accomplice lost his composure and attacked. It wasn't until the fake hunter-nin appeared that Zabuza revealed he hadn't been as injured as I had been led to believe."

Shimura Danzo, one of the eldest of the council aside from the Hokage, Koharu and Homura, leaned forward. "Do you mean to imply that a shinobi of your caliber could not differentiate between a downed opponent and one that is playing possum?" The man questioned, his voice calm and measured but the incredulity was apparent to most.

Kakashi shook his head "That was not the case, I saw the wound I gave Zabuza myself. Even if it wasn't a fatal blow he should've been at least incapacitated. He stood as if the wound I gave him was a pinprick. His accomplice was also strong in his own right, revealing a kekkai genkai that was thought to have been wiped out during the Kiri Bloodline-Massacres. The Hyoton."

A few ears perked at this information and Danzo had to admit to himself that he would've been just as interested if he didn't already know the Hyoton-user was dead. Deciding to nip the ensuing, unneeded questions, in the bud he nodded grudgingly "Your report did mention the appearance of a Hyoton-user, as well as his death" The last part was aimed towards the greedy council-members who, no doubt, were waiting to find out where the person was in hopes of some farfetched breeding program or marriage proposal. It made the three-war veteran sick to his stomach to see such greed on the faces of his fellow villagers, they knew nothing beyond their wallets and stomachs, thinking of nothing but what they stand to gain rather than what they stand to lose.

"It was at this point that you, yourself, were incapacitated by the Hyoton-user's jutsu and placed into a position in which Momochi Zabuza was capable of ending your life, correct?" Utatane Koharu spoke up, her countenance leaving little to the imagination of how bored and impatient she was with the proceedings.

Kakashi nodded "Yes, Utatane-dono. It was at this time that the fight was effectively brought to a close due to Naruto-kun's involvement."

Koharu's gaze turned from Kakashi to Naruto and she noticed how the young boy flinched under her eyes. "Uzumaki Naruto, before we hear the rest of the report I wish for you to understand a very important point. Neither myself, nor my fellow advisors and especially not the Hokage, see you as any less of a person than before you left the village. You are a shinobi of Konohagakure, you are the jailer to the most destructive and powerful demon that has ever walked the Elemental Nations. You are an orphan who has struggled to gain what little you possess and yet you still smile in the face of adversity. As Hokage-Sama is prone to say, You are the embodiment of the 'Will of Fire'. Be proud of yourself and think little of the fact that you used a tool in your possession in order to save the lives of your team." Homura and surprisingly Danzo both nodded in agreement.

Upon saying this, the elderly woman turned back to Kakashi and gestured for him to continue the report. A very small few kept their eyes on Naruto, they were the only ones to see the genuine surprise shining in his eyes due to Koharu's words. Those few instantly vowed to themselves that they would help the young jinchuuriki the next time they were given the chance. Hiruzen relaxed in his seat and let a small smile appear on his face, he had always wondered what Koharu and Homura really thought of Naruto. Of course he knew what Danzo thought, "a weapon", but even still, Hiruzen knew that his old rival held Konoha's interest in his heart. However, to hear Koharu speak so highly of Naruto and to have Homura mirror it...Hiruzen sighed, he was truly losing it if he had never noticed their true feelings on such an important matter.

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><p>The council watched as the Hokage stood from his seat and only a handful of them were surprised to hear what he said "Now that this hearing is concluded, and since this was never a trial of any sorts that would result in punishment for either shinobi, it is time to decide what the future of Team 7 shall be. They have lost one teammate while another is currently admitted to the psychiatric-ward until further notice. If and when Haruno Sakura is deemed ready to return to active duty, she will be far behind Uzumaki Naruto and will not be capable of simply being placed back in her original squad. Are there any suggestions that will not cause me any undue irritation or anger?" The aged man finished mildly, a casual glance being sent towards Danzo who either didn't notice or completely ignored it.<p>

A few members of the council seemed incensed by the Hokage's words, immediately understanding that no punishment was going to be given to the one they felt was to blame for the death of Uchiha Sasuke. It was only the the obvious show of support coming from more than half of the shinobi clan heads as well as the Hokage's advisors that stayed their tongues.

"If there is no suggestions then perhaps I will make my own." Danzo spoke after a few moments of silence. Hiruzen sighed internally already knowing what his rival was going to say, he opened his mouth to quickly put a stop to it when a thought struck him.

"You mean to suggest that you take Naruto under your tutelage, Danzo?" The 'God of Shinobi' eyed his rival who seemed to be gritting his teeth, no doubt believing he was going to be once again denied. Hiruzen then turned towards the now-worried Kakashi and the unresponsive Naruto.

"Very well Danzo, I will permit you to train Uzumaki Naruto until such a time that I decide that he is to be placed elsewhere" Kakashi, Homura, Koharu and even Danzo were caught completely off-guard by the Hokage's words. There were some stirrings from the other councilors but they kept their thoughts to themselves _'as they should'_ Hiruzen thought.

"However,' The Sandaime continued, causing Danzo's visible eye to open slightly, 'seeing as how I have had my reasons for barring you from training Naruto-kun in the past, I will be placing a certain stipulation on this endeavour of yours. Hatake Kakashi will be assigned as your second. He will, and must, always be present whenever you are training Naruto. If at any time Kakashi reveals to me that you left him out of a training sessions then Naruto-kun will be reassigned, most likely to a genin team lacking a third member. Hatake Kakashi, you will arrive-on time-to each and every training session that Naruto partakes in. I will not accept any tardiness on your part, is that understood?"

Kakashi, who had just began to believe that he had truly lost all his students and any chance at redemption, looked up at his Kage with a fire in his eyes.

"It will be as you say, Hokage-Sama!" The jounin declared, bowing once he finished speaking.  
>Kakashi vowed then and there that he would not fail Naruto as he did Sasuke and Sakura, as he had <em>his<em> team and sensei. He would do more than just make sure Danzo didn't try to turn Naruto into some emotionless tool, he would train his sensei's son as well. With everything he had, Kakashi vowed to make Naruto the strongest shinobi Konoha has ever seen.

Upon the council being dismissed, Danzo quickly moved to leave through a side-door that gave him plenty of time to Shunshin away. He hadn't expected Sarutobi to finally give him access to the jinchuuriki and not even the addition of Hatake could stem his anticipation. He had, of course, noticed the Uzumaki's reaction to his new station. _'or lack of one, at any rate'_ he thought. The boy was in the right state for Danzo's manipulating hands to mold him into a perfect weapon for the village. "Weapon" he didn't care for anyone's thoughts on how he, and many others, viewed shinobi. They were all weapons, all tools, to be used and discarded. He, himself, had been a tool when he was younger and through time he had become a weapon-handler, so to speak. Uzumaki would see the truth in Danzo's teachings and as the old man was suddenly flanked by blank-masked figures as he entered a darkened alley, he couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his face.

"Konoha will once again reclaim it's position in the Elemental Nations, as the Unstoppable Force."

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><p><strong>Chapter 1...finished! Blah :P Anyhow, I've decided to take this fic and see where I end up. It's going to be slow-progression. The plot hasn't even fully been mapped out yet. There are no pairings in the works. There is, literally, nothing planned. <strong>

**I don't really like making plans because when I get to the point that was already planned out, I might've come up with something different that I want to do. **

**One thing you can expect is divergence. I like that in a fic and it only makes sense that I would have it in _my_ fic. Yes, Sasuke is dead. No, he's not going to magically reappear alive or come back in some wet-dream that Naruto has. No Naruto doesn't get the Sharingan, no...just, no. Put all similar thoughts out of your head. **

**If you really must have an explanation for why Sasuke is out of the story so early, well, IMHO...I hate Sasuke! No! I'm just kidding, that would seriously be a very horrible excuse to cut him out. In all honesty, I just don't see Sasuke's place in the series. As much as Kishi tries to play him up to be an important character, Sasuke seems like a footnote in the grand-scheme of things. Madara is the true villain, as was Orochimaru. Itachi's entire presence and his end were just underplayed and under-untilized. Of course, I just set myself up for failure if I can't do something better, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.**

**Expect updates to be long and erratic. If you have an idea and wish to share, please do :). If your idea is about a pairing...well don't expect a response. This is my first true fic. I am not going to spend any meaingful amount of time devising a way to fit in a pairing. Even if a pairing comes into being, there definitely wont be any lemons or 'Naruto-with-a-dozen-girls'. Though I don't mind reading those, I am not going to write one.**

**Once again, this will be a slow-moving fic. I am not going to be talking about Naruto starting to train under Danzo in Chapter two, and then in chapter three there's a *4 months* later and Naruto is all god-mode now. The only major time-skip would be the canon one, any other would be limited to a few days or hours, maybe even a week. These wont be used simply to skip through training and get right to the results however.**

**I thank you for reading, and appreciate it if you review as well. Wish me luck! ~ C.D. the XPG  
><strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N, before the story starts I'd like to once again state that updates for this story will not follow any certain time-frame. I've recently started college so whatever time I used to (not) have has been cut in half. I would like to make sure that all who read this know that I wont abandon it. Also, I'd like to remind everyone that this is my first fic, so don't be surprised (or upset) at any mistakes you might see. Though I would like it if you point them out to me.**

**I was going to put Naruto's introduction into Danzo's training in this chapter but found that it would be easier to start chapter three with that instead. **

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><p>"If you so choose, you may speak freely Kakashi." Sarutobi Hiruzen casually packed his pipe full of tobacco. While the Sandaime would normally smoke a various mixture of herbs that had been well-known since the Second Great Shinobi War, this new product had been spreading throughout the Elemental Nations and Hiruzen had found that he preferred over his former choice. The aged leader hadn't even looked up from this activity to the jounin standing before him when he had spoke. He didn't <em>need<em> to either to know that Kakashi had been less than pleased with the results of the hearing.

"Very well, Hokage-Sama. Have you completely lost your mind?" The jounin demanded, though his voice only rose a slight octave. While he had taken liberty with the permission to "speak freely" he was not foolish enough to believe that his leader would allow him to truly say what was on his mind, at least not without properly wording it first. He had fallen for this trick a long time ago when his sensei had become Hokage, Naruto may have inherited most of his mischief from his mother but Kakashi had seem quite a few moments in which the young blonde had displayed a humor similar to his father, Namikaze Minato. The Yondaime was known as being the kindest, most determined and strongest shinobi that Konoha had ever produced, yet few were capable of avoiding the mind-games that the Yellow-Flash could pull. There was a morbid reason why the civilian council was glad to have the Sandaime as Hokage rather than the Minato.

The Hokage in question still did not look up from his pipe, which he was now preparing to light, as he replied.

"Kakashi, I did what I believed is best for, not only Naruto, but Konoha. Despite my views, which have not changed, Naruto is the village's jinchuuriki.' Giving the jounin a sharp-look when Kakashi made to speak, the Hokage continued uninterrupted. 'I wanted Naruto to grow up like any child his age. Thinking of only having fun, of playing with his friends and of being nothing more than a child. You know as well as I that this did not happen; Naruto lived a life no child ever should and it is my fault and I accept that. Had I kept silent about his being a jinchuuriki, perhaps he would've led a more quiet life. Perhaps he would've had a chance to make friends, something that he has truly yet to do to this very day. Did you know that for a period of time, I had know idea where, in this village, Naruto was?"

Kakashi had, dutifully, remained silent despite his urgings to speak. Now, he remained silent because he had been rendered speechless. He had observed, some time ago, that the Sandaime was far beyond his prime and would no doubt be looking for a successor to become Godaime, he had also recognized the looks sent his way whenever the subject was brought up and did his level best to ignore them. The title of Hokage was not something he wanted any part of. At the moment, before him, he looked on as "The God of Shinobi" lamented over his failings and couldn't help but feel guilty. It was an odd concept, a shinobi feeling guilty, but after a moment of introspection he let out a sigh and spoke.

"Hokage-Sama, the past is the past and there is nothing that can be done to change it. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and aspire to avoid making those same mistakes twice."

The gloomy atmosphere around the Sandaime suddenly vanished and the man sat up straight, a snap of his fingers igniting the leaves in his pipe, and nodded his head. "I am glad to see you have finally acknowledged that it's time to let the past go Kakashi. Now, you have been permanently assigned to oversee all of Naruto's training sessions under Danzo. At no point whatsoever should those two be left alone, I will not have Naruto end up like one of Danzo's ROOT shinobi. You are hereby ordered to appear, on time, to each session; no matter what the session is covering. I am counting on you Kakashi, dismissed."

Before the smut-reading man could comprehend what had just occurred, he was outside of the Sandaime's office. The doors had shut behind him and he stood there for all of a minute before realizing he had just been had. Slumping over, Kakashi slowly made his way out of the Hokage's tower, he only had four days before Naruto would start his first lesson under Danzo. _'Damn Hokages and their mind-games!'_.

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><p>Hiruzen chuckled to himself <em>'Minato might have been good but he was never good as the master. I still got it!'<em> were his thoughts upon easily tricking Kakashi into forgetting all the questions or comments he might've had. While it was a coward's way out, Hiruzen would have to forgive himself later. Naruto needed to become stronger and the proverbial "Kiddy gloves" needed to come off.

The Sandaime stood from his seat and walked over to the window and gazed out across his village. He noticed Kakashi had just entered the main road. _'Kakashi. You of all people should not have had this happen to you. Losing your teammates and then sensei had been almost too much, especially after your father...'_ Hiruzen offered a small prayer for Sakumo _'then to nearly lose your entire genin team as well as your own life. I can only pray that you make it out of this newest hole you've found yourself in. There was more than one reason for keeping you around Naruto, I hope it pays off.'_

Thinking about the blonde brought the Sandaime to the other reason he hadn't wanted to talk to Kakashi. _'Naruto. By all rights you should've never became a genin. You were not, nor are you now, ready. This latest mission only proves it. You cannot control your own emotions, your intelligence leaves much to be desired, and your attitude...' _Hiruzen sighed. He had hoped after the second time Naruto failed the Academy Exit Exams that the boy would've knuckled-down and given more of an effort into his studies and his training. While the Hokage knew that majority of the other students had an advantage over the jinchuuriki in the form of their respective clans and parents, it was not enough of a reason to excuse Naruto's actions.

Skipping classes whenever he felt like it, giving the instructors grief whenever he found himself in a situation that could potentially reveal his ignorance, lashing out at any form of criticism no matter the source and then there was his pranks. It was all the Sandaime could do to keep the complaints and demands for monetary retribution from reaching Naruto's ears. It was another matter entirely to sate the growing anger of _both _councils. While the shinobi side had been more than understanding of the jinchuuriki's obvious cries for attention, though their patience had been wearing thin; the civilian side were nearly always in an uproar after one of the Uzumaki's pranks, not surprising seeing as how they or their places of business were usually always the targets.

With a shake of his head, Hiruzen looked out the window once more. _'Naruto, I know Danzo very well. While I do not agree with his ideologies, I know him to be more than competent when it comes to training shinobi. I can only hope that your true self remains in tact and that you only gain the good out of Danzo's training without gaining any of the bad.'_

* * *

><p>Within the Konoha Hospital's psych ward, two young genin occupied a single-patient's room. Uzumaki Naruto had only just arrived a few moments prior and was currently in the middle of trying to make Haruno Sakura's stay more comfortable than it was; this being Naruto, he was over-doing it.<p>

"Naruto!" Sakura finally yelled after having yet another bouquet pushed into her already-filled arms. "Please, no more." She finished quietly when the blue-eyed blonde looked into her eyes in a near-panic. Sakura hadn't wanted to see Naruto at first, associating his presence with the memories of the Wave mission and the death of her love, but she hadn't the heart to turn him away seeing as how he must've felt just as bad as her and it would've have been fair for her to hurt his feelings just for her own comfort. As she watched her teammate frantically move about the room trying to fix his supposed mistakes in order to make her happy again the pinkette couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face. It was nearly impossible to not like Naruto after actually getting to know him, it was even harder to stay upset with him.

"Ah! Sakura-chan! I'm sorry!' Naruto all-but-yelled causing her to wince slightly _'well, maybe not _too_ hard'_ 'I didn't mean it! It's just, with everything that's happened, the mission to wave, lying clients, crazy-strong missing-nins...Sasuke..." Both teens grew solemn at that line-of-thought.

"Now I have to be trained by some old guy and they said you're being taken off active-duty until they say you're better! They said you would be too far behind after that and you'd have to join some other genin team! Why are they breaking us up Sakura-chan!"

As Naruto degenerated into directionless rambling Sakura found herself lost in thought. _'I knew about being taken off active-duty, but being left behind?'_ The pink-haired girl found the thought of losing her remaining teammate, her sensei...her team. A thought suddenly occurred to Sakura and she rounded on Naruto, reaching out and grabbing his wildly-waving arm and pulling him into a sitting position next to her on the bed.

"Naruto' Her calm voice cut through his ranting and she felt a small thrill in the way he was now completely silent and his attention was solely on her 'we aren't going to be separated. We're all that's left of Team 7. We can't be broken up and no one can take Sasuke-kun's place. We have to keep our team pure!"

Naruto frowned in confusion "Sakura-chan, it was Hokage-ji's decision to break us up. I have to report to the old guy on the council and Kaka-sensei has to oversee the training I'm going to do, I'm not sure why yet though. Also! Why haven't they given Sasuke a funeral yet! I remember Iruka saying that every shinobi gets a special funeral if they die on a mission or in service to the village." The blonde punctuated his sentence with a nod of his head, Sakura didn't know why but she had the urge to giggle at the look on his face. Though he tried sounding smart, she could tell he was simply reciting what he had heard in the academy. She was able to keep a straight face by thinking about his question.

"Sasuke-kun is...wasn't just a shinobi. He was from a famous clan with a bloodline. It's operating procedure to burn the body and then seal the ashes before returning to the village. I'm not sure why they haven't done any ceremony but it might have to do with the wishes of the Uchiha clan when they die. Now that I think about it, I don't remember there being any ceremony for the Uchiha clan after the massacre."

Naruto went silent at this revelation and turned his eyes towards the ground, he wasn't sure what he should be feeling at the moment if not outrage. A hand gently touching his cheek and guiding his direction back to his teammate stopped his thoughts.

"Naruto' Sakura spoke, her voice just above a whisper 'Sasuke-kun is gone. He wouldn't want us to let Team 7 be broken up. Even if you have to train under someone else and I have to stay here for now, that doesn't mean we have to grow apart. We can still keep Team 7 alive."

Naruto found himself mesmerized by his teammate's determined words and fiery eyes. He wasn't sure if Sakura even realized how close she was getting as she kept leaning foward with each point made.

"Naruto. They're going to train you, it's because they want you strong...right?' Seeing him nod, and not recognizing his flinch at her words, she continued 'Then take everything they have to give. Get strong, get as strong as you can. When I get out of here I'm going to do the same, I'll get so strong that they'll have no choice but to put us back together!" Sakura beamed after saying that and she stared off into space already dreaming of the inevitable reunion of Team 7. Naruto watched her, wondering what that gleam in her eyes was.

Sakura suddenly focused back on Naruto and quickly reached forward, placing her hands on the sides of his face and pulling him forward until their noses were only a few inches apart. The blonde felt his breath catch his in the back of his throat and he could only watch as Sakura inched closer, he would never admit that he had felt faint when she finally spoke.

"Naruto, it's you and me now. You have to take Sasuke-kun's place, he's not here no more and that means we have to step-up. It's the only way to uphold his memory! You understand right?" Naruto couldn't help but nod his head, the fact that Sakura's hands all but pulled his head up and down didn't register.

"Don't leave me Naruto...' The blonde blinked when the girl before him seemed to trail off before he felt a sudden pressure on his lips and as soon as his mind caught him up with what was happening it was already over. He stared with wide eyes as Sakura pulled away from him slowly and laid back on her bed and began to pull the sheets to cover herself. 'I'll see you tomorrow, ok Naruto...kun?"

* * *

><p>It was a bright day in Konoha. The sky bereft of clouds yet the shining sun wasn't too harsh, the cool breeze certainly helped those who couldn't simply manipulate chakra to regulate their body temperature to comfortable levels. Civilians moved about, haggling with merchants if they weren't trying to sell something themselves.<p>

All in all, it was a beautiful day. It could've been hellfire and brimstone to Naruto and he still wouldn't have noticed. He had left the hospital only a few moments ago and was blankly walking down the the main road through the village. He continued walking, ignoring the wary eyes of every other villager that noticed him, ignoring the few scowls and leers sent his way. An invasion could've occurred and Naruto wouldn't have noticed, his mind was still back in his teammate's room, his mind still on the feel of Sakura-chan's lips from their kiss. Well, she had kissed him and that had been it, but to him him it might've been a huge make-out session. Another thing on his mind was that he had absolutely no experience with this sort of thing, he had no clue what this meant for Sakura and him. Did this mean they were a couple now? Was there going to be more kissing in the future?

Despite the fact that he had been crushing on the pink-haired girl for as long as he could remember, he had never given any thought to what would happen if Sakura ever returned his feelings and they became a couple. He recalled skipping out on the Sex Education classes during his academy days because they had nothing to do with being a strong shinobi, in his opinion, and also because that week he had gotten a line on passing merchant who was selling quality kunai for affordable prices. Now, he had experience his first kiss...well there was that _other_ time but he banished those thoughts from his mind forever and wasn't about to drag them back up. Sakura was his _first_ kiss, and that's all there was to it.

Naruto nodded to himself at the self-declaration and a few passer-bys starred at him questioningly before hurrying away. Thankfully, for Naruto's mental stability, an interruption suddenly appeared in the form of Hatake Kakashi.

"Ohayo Naruto-kun!" The elite-jounin greeted.

"It's the afternoon, sensei" The boy replied absently, not stopping even a second nor did he look up at the man as he continued walking.

Kakashi quirked a brow before placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, effectively gaining his attention and bringing Naruto to a halt. The silver-haired jounin eye-smiled and that was as much warning as Naruto was going to get before the two vanished in a shunshin.

* * *

><p>As the two stood outside the nondescript building Kakashi searched for the right words to warn his pupil about what he was about to get into. It wasn't easy either, a glance towards the blonde revealed that Naruto had once again gone blank. The myriad of emotions that had been running rampant across Naruto's face before he had approached the boy had disappeared. Kakashi was at least relieved that Naruto hadn't closed himself off completely and still had the capacity to feel. He knew from first-hand experience what it was like to lose a comrade and he also knew what it was like to have a teammate die before his very eyes.<p>

Images of Obito's annoying smiling face passed through Kakashi's mind but he quickly shook them away.

"Naruto...' He started, glad that the boy didn't make this harder by seemingly ignoring him '...you realize what is going to happen correct? You are going to be pushed to your limits for an undetermined amount of time. Shimura Danzo is a harsh taskmaster. He is a veteran of every Shinobi war that there has ever been since the founding of the Hidden Villages. Some of the things he will have you do might not agree with your personal views but I'm afraid, for the most part, that you will have to make quite a few sacrifices."

Naruto frowned before looking down at the ground. "He doesn't like orange either, does he sensei?"

Kakashi couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips at the childish, and off-the-wall, question.

"No, I do not believe he does."

"How old is he anyway? You said he's been in every war, so..." Naruto looked up to his sensei in curiousity

"Not 'every war' Naruto, he's been in all of the Great Shinobi Wars. As for his age?..." Kakashi stopped himself when he felt the appearance of three chakra signatures appear behind him. A voice spoke as the two members of Team 7 turned to greet the new arrivals.

"I am the same age as our Hokage.' The revealed Danzo answered for Kakashi. 'My age, however, is not a concern you should trouble yourself with Uzumaki-san. Intead, you should be thinking of how you will explain your shinobi outfit to me. Your clothes and hair make you stand out as if you were light in the dark." Naruto briefly glanced at the old man he had seen at the hearing before turning to the two shinobi who flanked him. He turned back to Danzo when he realized that both men, at least he thought they were both men, were wearing the exact same outfits as each other and were also wearing blank white animal masks

Naruto blinked and expected his outfit before looking back at his new sensei. "I like this color and if I wasn't supposed to wear it then it would've have been sold in a shinobi store" He finished his statement with a defiant glare towards the one-eyed man who looked entirely unimpressed.

"I will tell you now, Uzumaki, that I do not abide fabrications by those under me." At Naruto's blank stare, Kakashi filled him in. "It means 'lying' Naruto" The blonde's eyes lit up in realization then his face flushed in embarrassment and indignation and he made his feelings known by jabbing a finger at the one-eyed man

"Hey! Who are you calling a liar! Take that back or...gurk!" In the span of his outburst, Naruto had not seen the two mask-wearing shinobi move and wasn't aware they were no longer by their master's side until he was face-first in the ground. A knee was digging into his back, two hands had his wrists in a grip and had pulled his arms out and away from each other in front of him, and finally, there was the edge of the blade that was pressed against the side of his neck.

As carefully as he could, Naruto peered up at his captors and was only able to see parts of the outfits worn by the two shinobi who had accompanied Danzo. The man in question stared down at Naruto in disappointment, without a word he stepped passed the group and entered the building Naruto and Kakashi had been standing outside of.

Kakashi moved to follow before stopping and turning to the two ROOT members. He, like few others in the village, had known that Danzo still had his ROOT organization operating, despite the fact that the Sandaime and the Yondaime had been ordered the group to be dispersed. After the Yondaime's death, Danzo had given up all intentions of keeping his organization hidden and with the Sandaime not doing anything about it he went unopposed.

"Do I really have to tell you two to let him up?" The jounin questioned mildly. The two ROOT members tensed slightly before moving off of Naruto and hauling him to his feet. While they only took orders from Danzo, they were not foolish enough to ignore an obvious order and threat from one such as Hatake Kakashi.

Kakashi sighed as he put a hand on the indignant Naruto and led him into the building, he briefly wondered if perhaps it _would've_ been better if Naruto had closed himself off emotionally.


	3. Chapter 3

"Naruto!" her voice moaned out. He felt like he was in heaven, as there could be nowhere else that he was capable of feeling this eternal bliss. The woman that was his teammate squirmed beneath him in pleasure. Her arms wrapped around his neck as if to keep him from moving away from her, _'as if anything could pull me from her sweet embrace'_.

Sakura cried out once more as Naruto continued to pleasure her, he briefly thought of the events that had brought him to this point. He thought of how it was that he went from being an obstacle in Sakura's path to being the only one she wanted between her legs, and the only one she wanted in her heart. Idly, he wondered how Sakura was able to leave the hospital seeing as she had a chunin guarding her room at all times due to what Kakashi had said was "Suicide-Watch"

Naruto frowned, though he did not stop his actions, he actually couldn't remember how this came about. He had no recollection of how he and Sakura ended up sharing a bed, as well as their bodies, together.

"Hmpf, I'm only gone for less than a month and already you betray me" A cold voice echoed throughout the room. The two remaining genin of Team 7 looked towards the door and both gasped in shock at who they saw.

"Sasuke!" "Sasuke-kun!" The last Uchiha sneered at the two. Naruto made to get out of the bed and rush towards his teammate that he had believed to be dead but stopped when said teen lifted his right hand and made a simple gesture. A squeal from behind him drew Naruto's attention back to the bed only to find it empty, turning back towards Sasuke his eyes widened. Sakura, inexplicably fully dressed, was in Sasuke's arms. Naruto wasn't sure what to be more shocked at; Sakura's actions or the fact that Sasuke was hugging her back.

"Sakura... what are you doing?" The pink-haired girl turned back towards him and blinked as if confusion. Understanding flashed in her eyes and she shook her head as a derisive chuckle escaped her lips.

"Honestly Naruto, did you really think that I could ever choose you over Sasuke-kun? You were just second-best and I thought Sasuke-kun was dead, but now that he's not...well even _you_ aren't that dense" His teammate giggled before turning back to her crush and, to Naruto's further shock, pulled the Uchiha into a searing kiss which Sasuke returned just as passionately.

Naruto, at that moment, felt as if his entire world had been shattered. Before he could lapse further into depression, he noticed that his world was literally cracking up and beginning to shatter.

Cracks ran up and down the walls and ceiling around him, not that his teammates noticed as they continued to embrace each other and had slowly moved to the floor much to Naruto's disgust, there was no sound to indicate an earthquake or explosion or anything else that could explain what was happening. Running towards the door, having to jump over the reunited couple, Naruto quickly escaped the building only to find a new problem facing him.

It was as if the entire Konoha population was in front of him. This was not too strange a sight to him, he had seen the village gathered before during ceremonies, but he had never had their total undivided attention. It was as he looked around that Naruto noticed something was out of place with the crowd before him. Flanking the Sandaime Hokage, who was standing at the head of the crowd, were the previous Hokages. Senju Hashirama and Tobirama, and Namikaze Minato, the Sho, Ni, and Yondaime Hokages. There were also many others in the crowd that Naruto knew weren't supposed to be alive, the dozens of Uchihas, the original matron of the orphanage who had been replaced by the cold-hearted woman who had kicked Naruto out within her first month there.

The blonde nervously wet his lips as he took a step backwards only to find something blocking his path. Slowly turning around, Naruto found the Sannin of Konoha blocking his path. Despite not knowing everything about the three shinobi, Naruto _did_ know that all three hadn't been seen in Konoha in a long while, he also knew that Orochimaru's reason for being gone was because he was a wanted criminal. Even knowing that, the three legendary shinobi stood there simply staring down at him.

Moving to the side and once again backing away from the stares, Naruto once again found his path blocked. Feeling anger rising up within him, the blonde turned on the spot and prepared to give the newest person a piece of his mind but whatever he might've prepared to say died in his throat as he beheld the kunoichi staring down at him.

He had never seen her before, not in person or even in a photograph. Despite that fact, he couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity upon seeing her. She was wearing an ANBU outfit, a white mask pulled to the side of her ahead away from her face. Long flowing red hair that nearly reached the back of her knees. Violet, unblinking, eyes stared down at him...no, stared _through_ him. Naruto felt as naked as the day he was born beneath the eyes of this strange woman.

Then, it happened.

A mighty roar from within him, followed by such rage-the likes that Naruto had never felt-exploded outwards. As far as Naruto could see, flames enveloped everything. The buildings, the shops, the very ground, and the villagers. Everything, except...for _her_. Naruto, struggling to remain standing as the fury from within him continued to pour out, saw that only one person had survived the blazing inferno. The red-headed woman, she had remained where she was and was still staring at him.

**"WAKE UP! YOU INSUFFERABLE FOOL!" **

* * *

><p>Naruto gasped as he was forcibly pushed back into consciousness. He quickly looked surveyed his surroundings, uncaring of the sweat from his brow flying ever-which way, seeing the drab gray room that he had been assigned by Shimura-sensei. He reached up and wiped his hand across his face, slightly surprised by how much he had been sweating.<p>

"It was only a dream" he murmured. As he recollected the dream, he tried to understand it. It wasn't difficult to guess why he had dreamt what he had about him and Sakura. Even the part of Sasuke being alive and Sakura running back to him made sense. The villagers though...that was something different. If they had been glaring at him, or calling for his death, perhaps he might be able to explain it. Not that such a thing had ever happened to him, but he could've at least been able to simply attribute it to the Kyuubi. The past Hokages being there...and the Sannin. Naruto gulped, an unknown feeling filling him, as his thoughts brought him to the red-headed woman.

Shaking his head and laying back down, realizing it was only a few hours past midnight, Naruto decided to think about it again when he was more awake. As he drifted off to sleep, a large pair of illuminated eyes opened within the darkness of the cage that resided in Naruto.

**"_That_ woman...why was she in the bastard's dreams." **It was clear in the demon's tone that there was no love-lost between it and the woman in Naruto's dream, though for all it's intelligence, the fox found itself at a loss for an answer and did the only thing it could do. Eyes closing, the Kyuubi growled as an image of the same woman appeared in front of it's nose. A lightning-quick flash of teeth and the image vanished, a low growl was the last of the fox's actions before silence reigned once again.

* * *

><p>At the same time that Naruto was waking up from his dream, a young teen with light brown hair and equally brown eyes frowned.<p>

_"This one is stronger than we thought..."_ a voice slithered through the teen's mind causing a slight wince before the teen, with eyes narrowed in determination, nodded resolutely.

"Freedom." Was the whispered reply.

* * *

><p>ROOT ANBU member, codenamed: Hyō -an eighteen year-old male whose only real identifying characteristics was his long, dark-brown hair which spiked outward from the pony-tail he had it in- stared down at the broken alarm clock on the floor. He was currently inside Uzumaki Naruto's room, said blonde turned over in his sleep at that moment and was now laying on his back, and if he had any emotion at all he might've snorted in disdain at the sight before him.<p>

Naruto was completely unguarded at the moment. If Hyō had been an enemy-nin on assignment to end the life of Konoha's jinchuuriki, his mission would've been completed five minutes ago when Hyō first entered the room. He might've also been angered by the fact that the Uzumaki was so undisciplined that he could not even bring himself to wake up when he was ordered to. Having to rely on an alarm clock was bad enough, acting out against said device and rendering it useless was even worse.

Currently, Naruto was dreaming again of dating Sakura, he had just revealed his true love for her and watched as she opened her mouth to respond in kind. He, however, was prepared to hear _"I love you, Naruto"_ from the pinkette, not...

**Suiton: Teppōdama**!

The blonde attempted to leap out of bed, only to get tangled up in his bed sheets which caused him to fall to the unforgiving floor, as soon as the water bullet hit him. Looking up wildly, his eyes finally stopped on the masked-nin at the door who was staring impassively back at him. Jumping to his feet, Naruto pointed a finger at the man.

"What the hell is a matter with you! Who the hell just attacks people in their sleep!" The blonde raged, belatedly moving himself into a defensive stance when the masked-nin did not immediately answer.

Hyō was somewhat surprised that the jinchuuriki had taken the attack, he had heard stories about Uzumaki and they had painted a story of an ever-alert prankster who was quick to respond to negative stimuli, especially if it was physical. Watching the blonde take the attack without even using chakra to degrade it, and then collapsing to the ground in an undignified heap only to jump to his feet and began yelling his head off...Hyō was more than surprised, he was disappointed. He did notice that the Uzumaki had eventually gone on the defensive but, with Hyō as his "opponent" it was eight minutes too late.

"Uzumaki-san, you were ordered by Danzo-Sama to awake at exactly 0500 hours. It is now 0509 hours. Your morning training should already be underway. Dress yourself and report to the location Danzo-Sama gave you." With that, Hyō turned away from the room and vanished into the darkness.

Naruto stood there for a few moments trying to figure out what the hell the "ANBU-guy" was talking about when memories of the previous day, and weeks, came back to him.

"SHIT!" He yelped. In a movement reminiscent of a tornado, Naruto moved across the room and was out the door in less than a minute, though it was on one foot as he was still trying to put on his right-foot sandal.

* * *

><p>"Uzumaki Naruto. You are late. Your punishment is two-hundred push-ups, diamond-style*" Danzo spoke calmly, not even looking up from the documents on the desk in front of him. He reached over to a mug and brought it to his lips for a sip, his lone eye snapped up towards the blonde who was staring back at him mouth-agape.<p>

"Is there any part of that order you did not understand Uzumaki?" He questioned, still calm though his voice carried a hard edge that Naruto finally picked up on, evidence to support his comprehension being his falling to the ground and starting the punishment. Upon reaching fourteen push-ups, Danzo stood from his desk and walked around it towards Naruto.

"Uzumaki Naruto. For the past hour, I have been reading over your file in order to learn everything I can about you' This was a lie of course. He had been watching, or had his subordinates watching, Naruto since the boy was born. There was nothing that Naruto knew that Danzo didn't. 'Two attempts at graduating early, only to fail twice. Skipping classes or an entire academy day more than a dozen times each semester. Picking fights with those who had proven themselves your better in a vain hope that you might redeem yourself in the eyes of your peers. Attacking civilians and local businesses under the guise of 'pranks'."

Naruto, who was on his sixty-third push-up, kept his head down. As much as he wanted to defend himself, he was smart enough to remember Danzo's words from the previous day.

_"Hokage-Sama may allow you to call him disrespectful names without punishment. I, however, am not so lenient. You will give me the respect my position as an elder advisor on the village council as well as being your sensei. Disrespect me and their will be consequences"_

So, for the first time in his life, Naruto kept his mouth shut and continued what he was doing. He was at least glad that Kakashi was in the room as well, leaning against a wall on the far-side of the room, reading his porn and being unhelpful as usual.

"There _is_ something that actually has me confused about you, Uzumaki. When you first started the academy, you were in the top tier of your classes in your first year. Your rivalry with the late Uchiha Sasuke was actually a friendly one, wholly opposite of the spiteful rivalry the two of you shared after becoming genin. Stop. When I say 'up' you will raise yourself into the up position, when I say 'down' you will lower yourself, you will also speak the number you are currently on before answering my questions. Now, answer me, what was it that changed you after your first year? What caused you to become what you were later known for? UP!"

Naruto, who had paused in the down position pushed himself up, held himself up and tried to think back to his first year. He had been so eager to join the academy, to become a shinobi (_"the best shinobi ever!"_) and then Hokage. He had studied for every lesson, he had done all the homework, passed his quizzes and physical tests. He had paid attention to the chunin-sensei almost religiously. Then...then something changed, but he couldn't remember what.

"I don't know." He answered at last.

"Down.' Danzo replied. 'I do not appreciate being lied to. You were one of the three students in your first year that was most commonly remarked upon. It was estimated that if your progress continued, you would be out of the academy in three years, if not two. Though those statements more-than-likely had the Kyuubi in mind, however they would've been accurate nonetheless. Now, what turned you from an early-graduate into a delinquent who only passed his genin exams due to pity? Up"

Naruto snarled, even as he pushed himself up. "It wasn't pity! Take that back!"

Danzo wasn't fazed a bit and simply stated. "Another hundred push-ups, I will not tolerate disrespect Uzumaki. I am not one of your...friends, nor am I any other who will allow you to vent your frustrations or indignations upon. Answer my question. Down"

Naruto growled under his breath as he lowered his body back down, leaving an inch between his body and the floor. Despite his ungodly stamina and chakra reserves, he hadn't pushed himself physically as much as his peers. Sure he ran a lot, and had high endurance, but he was rather weak. His arms were already burning from the exercise and he was only on seventy-three.

"I don't remember, when I returned to the academy for my second year I...something...I don't know! I just couldn't focus, or maybe I thought it was all boring! I know it wasn't because of the villagers ignoring me, I had gotten over that when I was five...seventy-three."

Danzo was silent for a moment before moving back to his desk, giving the "up" command as he moved. The man's single hand moved across the desk and stopped on a folder which he picked up and laid down in front of him. "Down"

"Seventy-four..."

"Uzumaki, in this folder, I have information which I am sure that neither you nor Hokage-Sama wished for anyone to know about. While it is not dangerous information in the slightest, it was kept a secret solely on your request. Would you care to guess what information I am referring to? Up."

Naruto's head snapped up, his body automatically pushing himself off the ground, and he stared at the one-eyed man in shock.

"How...where did...you can't! Please...you can't. If anyone ever found out...that man wasn't right in the head...he was drunk, the villagers aren't like him!"

Danzo peered over the now open folder at Naruto. "Down' waiting for Naruto to speak the number of his current push-up, Danzo motioned for Kakashi to join him. _"On the night of June the fifth, on or about 2230 hours; Uzumaki Naruto was accosted by Konoha-chunin, Saidō Eikichirō. Eikichirō-san was well beyond inebriated and thus, was not in his right mind. When Eikichirō-san happened upon Uzumaki Naruto, he began to insult him. When Uzumaki-san tried to get away, Eikichirō-san grabbed the boy's arm and twisted it behind the boy's back. The strength applied resulted in the breaking of Uzumaki-san's arm, the resulting cry of pain alerted nearby ANBU who quickly arrived on the scene and apprehended Eikichirō-san. When questioned, Uzumaki-san refused to give a clear answer as to what had occured. Hokage-Sama permitted the use of a mind-viewing technique which was employed by Yamanaka Inoichi-Sama. The above accounts are what was recorded by Yamanaka-Sama."_

Danzo looked back towards Naruto who was still holding himself up. "Down." He was slightly impressed that Naruto hadn't allowed himself to collapse to the ground, or even touch it. "Seventy-five"

"Recover, Uzumaki." Naruto finally allowed his body to hit the ground and laid there panting for a few seconds before pushing himself to his feet.

"What have you to say about this?" Danzo questioned the blonde. Naruto, who was hunched over slightly still out of breath looked up, he saw the old man staring back at him expectantly. Next to Danzo, Kakashi was reading over the file. This cause Naruto to look away in shame, he had never wanted anyone to know about that event.

"It was a one-time event. Nothing had ever happened like that before or after...he was just drunk and couldn't control his actions. Ji...Hokage-Sama' Naruto had changed his name for his "Jiji" when he looked at Danzo, despite the man admitting to not caring what Naruto called the Hokage, Naruto wasn't going to take chances. ' told me that the man had been _'taken care of'_ and wouldn't ever bother me again. I wasn't the smartest person back then, but after I found out from Mizuki about the Kyuubi and what the consequences were for revealing that secret or attacking me was...well, even _I_ was able to figure out that Eikichirō-san was executed."

Danzo nodded as he closed the file that Kakashi was till reading, much to the Sharingan-user's annoyance. Naruto actually wished Kakashi was still reading the file because if he was, then the man wouldn't be staring at him now with an intensity that Naruto hadn't seen before.

"While the subject of your belated revelations are somewhat interesting, you have not answered my question Uzumaki" Naruto hung his head and sighed, figuring that there wasn't going to be a way out of this.

"Before the ANBU showed up, Eikichirō-san had plenty of time to tell me why he was so...upset. He told me that his son was in the academy too, but he was at the bottom of the class. When Eikichirō-san heard that the "Fox brat" was at the top of the class, he couldn't take it. He "taught" his son "a lesson or two" for failing against me and then went and had a few drinks. He told me that...that he wasn't the only one that hated the fact that I was doing so well in the academy, he wasn't the only one sick of hearing from some of the shinobi about how I would become a powerful shinobi of Konoha and especially that my progress had even been likened to that of the Yondaime and Uchiha Itachi, though Eikichirō-san admitted to knowing those were exaggerations."

Naruto paused and looked at the two men who were staring back at him without any visible emotion, though he wasn't sure how to take it that Kakashi wasn't reading his book.

"Eikichirō-san told me that if I knew what was good for me, I'd think about not doing so well in the academy. He started to say more but that's when the ANBU had showed up after he broke my arm"

Danzo, who had sat back in his seat, seethed internally at the foolish bastard Eikichirō Saidō and the rest of the like-minded villagers. He realized now that if that event had not happened, Naruto might well have been on his way to becoming chunin already. He most definitely would've graduated early, if his learning curve was anything to go by. However, he knew that the past was the past and there was nothing you could do to change it, you could only prevent it from occurring again.

"Uzumaki, I find myself understanding your past dilemma. I do not condone such cowardice, mind you, but you were and are an orphan. At the time you had no one and nothing to safe-guard you from those such as Eikichirō Saidō, I still do not understand how you came to be so ignorant of the common basics which all academy students and genin know. If you meant to simply appear as a delinquent, as a dead-last, then why did you not _appear_ that way while in reality you would learn just as others did?"

Danzo shook his head and rose from his seat "This day's training is postponed, I need to put together a series of test that will tell me exactly where you stand compared to your peers." With that being said, the elder-advisor moved towards the entrance door leaving Kakashi and Naruto where they were.

Naruto sighed "At least I don't have to..."

"You are currently on seventy-five push-ups, Uzumaki! Hatake, I expect the full three-hundred from him!" Kakashi chuckled as Danzo finally exited the room and Naruto began to curse.

* * *

><p><strong>AN * - The Diamond Push-up is where you place your hands directly under you, forming a diamond with your forefingers and thumbs. You then perform your push-ups like that, it really sucks.**

** I know I said I was going to get to the training this chapter but, like Naruto in this chapter, I got a little lazy. This all came to me as I wrote it and I realized that, though Danzo would've been watching Naurto's every move (or as much as he could without alerting the Hokage), Danzo wouldn't know everything about Naruto. Specifically, he wouldn't completely know where Naruto stands against his peers in the different areas they were tested in. **

**He believed he knew enough, but with Naruto's little revelation, he has to start over again.**

**Now, just because Naruto hid that he was smart, or that he could easily pick up what was being taught in the academy, doesn't mean he has hidden strength or anything. He isn't a secret Super!Naruto, I might mention it in the next chapter or I might not but, basically...Naruto got lazy. He pretty much gave into his lazier side and indulged his every whim.**

**Pranking, skipping classes, sleeping during classes etc. He consciously thought that he had to hold back from being too good in class, but after a while he became bored with doing mediocre and looked for another avenue to keep himself entertained. After a year and a half (just postulating here) he found himself so immersed in his new lifestyle that he only did the bare minimum in the academy and then went off to do other things. **

**When he became a genin, he was truly ignorant of a lot of things and it was because he never learned about them in the academy unless he was in class.**

**See a mistake somewhere? Something doesn't look right? Let me know, I only have a soundboard, no beta.**

**P.S. I just realized I lied concerning something I said in chapter 1, about Sasuke not showing up in some "wet-dream" of Naruto's...lol. It's just a nightmare and, if it happens again, that's all it will be. Sasuke will never live in this fic, not even if I get so far as to use Kabuto like Kishi did. Even if Kabuto did rez Sasuke at some point, he would be useless because at the time Naruto would definitely be stronger. Anyway...yea.  
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**~CD the XPG**


	4. Revelations

"Eikichirō-san, yes. I remember him quite well.' Hiruzen murmured as he read the report that had been signed by him some-odd years ago. 'He had originally petitioned for a light-sentence, perhaps only a year or two imprisonment. At the time I had almost done exactly that. Then my ANBU found signs of abuse towards his only child. Not only that, there was quite a bit of evidence that suggested it was Eikichirō-san whose was the cause of his wife's death. With all that, I had him believe he was being sent to prison for five years. Sadly, he did not survive the transit. I believe it was a rogue Kumo-nin that killed him."

Danzo snorted from where he stood, staring out of one of the large windows in the Hokage's office. "Truly tragic, I'm sure that the story of a Kumo-nin being the perpetrator had nothing to with what happened two years prior to Eikichirō-san's untimely demise."

"Quite."

Danzo remained silent, awaiting his old rival's next words. He had already, angrily, given Hiruzen his findings on Naruto and now wanted to know what the old-monkey would do.

"To think, that such a waste of talent could've happened right under our noses.' Hiruzen felt tired, too tired to even lift up his lit pipe. 'I wasn't sure what to make of Naruto's change, though in retrospect, I honestly should've been suspicious of some kind of outside influence. For him to have changed so drastically over one summer..."

Danzo refrained from sneering, such actions were beneath a man of his caliber. No, instead he turned towards the man that beat him for the position of Hokage and offered him his best look of disappointment.

"My thoughts exactly. You failed not only yourself, but Uzumaki and _him_ as well. Imagine, if he were still around...' Danzo trailed off for a moment and visibly shuddered. ' or perhaps, imagine if _she_ were still around. To see Uzumaki in such a predicament because of the actions of a drunken man and the allusions of other like-minded parents. The boy could've been a jounin by now, if his early progress and his ingenuity are anything to go by. If not, imagine what he could've done instead during the mission to Wave. He might've been more cognizant of his surroundings, noticed both of his teammates attempting to kill themselves. A simple application of shadow clones and the only Uchiha left in the world would not be a known S-Class criminal!"

Danzo closed his eye tightly and took a deep breath. Slowly but surely, he regained his composure and once again looked upon his old rival. What he saw almost made him yell again; the man was sitting there, looking for-all-the-world like he was simply an old senile man that needed the aid of a nurse to move about. Any other day, any other time; Danzo would've enjoyed this. Would've begun making new plans to claim the Hokage seat, by the looks of things he could accomplish just that by the end of the week. However, now was not the time. Even if it were, Danzo was a man of dignity. Call him what you will, but Danzo would not accept a victory over _this _Hiruzen.

"I am going to tell the boy about _them_." He spoke deliberately.

Hiruzen's head snapped up and he glared at Danzo. "You. Will. Not! The last thing Naruto-kun needs is that kind of pressure! Not to mention the fact that it will only take a month before he lets it slip about his parentage! You know how he is, one wrong word from _anyone_ about him; whether it be that he's "just" an orphan, a dead-last, or worthless. Naruto will be more than happy to shove it in anyone's face who his father was!"

Danzo shook his head. "Uzumaki will not be allowed to leave the base until I am satisfied with the results of his training. As for him not "needing" pressure, I disagree. Pressure is _exactly_ what he needs. The boy just went through a traumatic experience. He's lost both of his teammates and his sensei is next to worthless. Don't deny it either Hiruzen! For all his accomplishments, all his power, Hatake Kakashi does not have it in him to be a sensei, especially not towards the only son of the man he once looked at as a father. Uzumaki needs something to strive for. Being "Hokage" is not a goal that he will ever attain if he stays the way he is now, even if he was the strongest shinobi in the village, that will mean nothing if the villagers don't respect him. If they fear him, how will they truly follow him? Isn't that why you chose Minato over Orochimaru?"

Hiruzen winced at that last part and Danzo inwardly admitted that the comment was below-the-belt but his old rival needed to see reason. After a few moments the Sandaime sighed and nodded his head.

"Very well, Danzo. However I want Neko to be there when you tell him. It might be not be necessary but if Naruto happens to succumb to his emotions then Neko will be there to handle the situation."

"_That_ man. I suppose you're correct. I will keep him with Naruto until the boy is capable of remaining calm. Kami only knows what might happen should that child ever lose himself to his darker emotions. I doubt the...experiment...would be able to stop him should Uzumaki ever go full bore. He's not the Shodaime, after all."

Hiruzen nodded slightly, but not for lack of faith in his ANBU. He had his own troubles keeping his tongue whenever Danzo or any other councilman would belittle his shinobi, no matter how small the slight. However, Danzo had the upper hand at the moment. He was the only one that Hiruzen knew capable enough to handle Naruto's training, especially with the time-frame that Hiruzen had given him.

* * *

><p><strong>(Later that evening. ROOT HQ.)<strong>

"Are you prepared?" Neko nodded and swiftly sped through a series of hand-seals before stopping on the last sign. Meanwhile, Danzo moved forward to where Naruto was sitting at a desk in the middle of a large empty room. A reinforced room that could withstand the charge of a beta-class summons.

Upon seeing Danzo walking towards him, the young blonde jumped out of his seat and gave a more-than polite bow. "Shimura-sensei! The punishment you gave me was completed! I await further instruction!"

The old veteran came to a stop and simply stared at the boy for a few moments before turning towards Kakashi. "You had something to do with this, didn't you?"

The Hatake eye-smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, he wanted to make a good impression on you. I suppose it's his way of saying he is ready to take things seriously."

Danzo turned back towards Naruto who had remained bowed. With a grunt he ordered the pre-teen back into his seat as he dropped the folder on the desk. Naruto blinked as he looked at the manilla folder and then turned up towards Danzo.

"Read." Was the simple command.

Naruto pouted.

Danzo spun on his heel and walked back towards Neko, subtly signaling Kakashi to do the same. Danzo offered no explanation to the Sharingan-bearer about what was going on and so the three men simply stood silently as they watched Naruto read through the folder.

Kakashi was confused, wondering what was in the folder Naruto was going over. He briefly considered pushing the topic with Danzo, perhaps citing the Hokage's orders about leaving him out on any training Naruto was given but decided to wait for the time being. He continued watching his blonde student when he noticed something strange occuring.

Naruto was unusally interested in whatever was in the folder. Paper after paper was looked over and then flipped. Naruto was also, obviously, beginning to breathe heavily. Slowly, the boy began to rise to his feet as he read each page. Finally, the boy grabbed to of the papers and slammed them on the desk.

"IS THIS A FUCKING JOKE!" The boy roared. Kakashi was a bit unnerved at the raw anguish in the boy's voice. _'What the hell did he read?'_

"It is not Uzumaki. Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, was your father. Uzumaki Kushina was your mother. That is the truth."

Both Kakashi and Naruto gaped at the elder man, only Naruto had come back to his sense a lot faster than Kakashi and was no staring down at the desk in front of him.

"Be ready Neko, his chakra his rising as is his intent." Danzo calmy commanded. He was not surprised at all when Kakashi grabbed him by the front of his kimono

"What the hell do you think your doing Danzo?' Kakashi spoke in a low threatening voice. 'You know Hokage-sama's decree. That information was to never be let out, least of all to Naruto!"

"Is that true...Kaka-sensei?" Danzo pushed Kakashi's arm away and the two looked towards Naruto who was now looking right back at them. The rising chakra had all but vanished. The intent was gone as well. The room, was utterly silent besides any noise made by the four shinobi within it.

Kakashi sighed in dismay. "Naruto-kun, Sandaime-sama planned on telling you. It just wasn't going to happen until you made it to at least the rank of Jounin. Your father had a lot of enemies, you must know that from your history lessons. If anyone in Iwa or Kumo, or even Suna, found out you were the son of the Yondaime Hokage, you'd never know a moment's peace. There would be attempts on your life at every turn. Can you honestly tell me that you would've wanted a life like that?"

Naruto stared back, his face void of emotion. "A life like what, exactly? Being tormented all the time for something I didn't do? I'm glad I _never went through that!_ A life where there are people who would love to see me dead? I'm grateful I never knew that feeling. A life where I would've known the name of my parents? I would've gladly accepted that life, if only to know that I had parents, and they loved me. That they didn't abandon me because everyone thinks I"m a demon."

It happened far too quickly and far too unexpectedly for the three men to truly understand what was happening until Kakashi was sent rocketing out the door, the steel door, and Danzo was kicked into a wall. Naruto was completely enveloped in red chakra and was down on all fours. His eyes slitted, fangs for teeth, a chakra tail swaying back and forth behind him. Neko didn't even hesitate before finishing his jutsu.

Long sturdy branches erupted from the ground and quickly enveloped Naruto in their crushing embrace. The wild child roared and fought with everything he apparently had to escape but was unable to even gain an inch. It was over just as quickly as it had started.

Danzo, slowly pushing himself back to his feet, hobbled over next to Neko and stared down at the now unconscious jinchuuriki. He looked out the door and saw an equally unconscious Hatake. He took in what had just occurred and nodded to himself.

'This is what happened in Wave. This is the potential Uzumaki has, and it's only a fraction of what he'll be capable of in the future.' He thought, not sure whether he should be pleased by the prospect or wary.

"Take him to his room, stay within five feet of his door. There is no way out for him in his room other than the door, you'll be the first person he encounters should he decide to come out. I do not believe I need to warn you of the dangers of him going anywhere outside this base alone." When Neko nodded in agreement Danzo walked out of the room. The boy had done quite a bit of damage to him with only one kick, at least he believed it was a kick that had got him. He was just glad that the wall had stopped him, unlike Hatake.

**Hey hey! I'm back? Then again I was never gone. Yesterday I had decided that it was finally time for me to update. There was nothing hold me back and so I came up with this chapter. It's all in the same day as the last part of chapter 3. Naruto's training will soon begin in earnest but for now he'll need to get over this latest obstacle. The Chunin Exams are two months away right now. "No" Naruto wont be in them and "no" I'm not going to tell you what his role is going to be during those exams.**

**I still don't know where this story is going to go. Literally, _anything_, can happen from here.  
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**Now, as I have no beta, and no one to be my sound-board. I have a few questions. Please note, that what I'm about to ask means that I will definitely add the answers to this story. This is just my little survey.  
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**1. Who should die, who should live?  
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**2. What kind of team should Naruto be in once he's put back into circulation?  
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**3. What kind of future should Naruto?  
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**4. How closely should this story follow canon?  
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**5. What major plot points in canon should be changed?  
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**As I've said, no matter what the answers are, I'll decide what to use and what not to use. Who knows, someone's idea might give _me_ an idea and from there this story will progress further. I'm also thinking about something concerning Sasuke, but not sure about that yet.  
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**Till next time! C.D. the XPG!  
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	5. Hashing out the Details

Shimura Danzo, hums. In fact, he was doing so at this very second. Any and all participants that were currently in the same room all had come to the same decision of '_don't ask, don't tell_'. As the man continued performing the action that would never be spoken of again, he went over the paperwork in front of him for the fifth time. After going over the last page he nodded, then sat back in his chair to comfortably look upon the two in front of him.

"Uzumaki Naruto. I have finished outlining the schedule that you shall be religiously adhering to until, either I say otherwise or, the Hokage places you back in circulation. This schedule has been specifically engineered to take care of two things. The first, is to repair the broken education you attained. Make no mistake, unwillingly or not, you are the sole reason for your lack of a stable shinobi education. Secondly, this schedule shall continue to help you grow as a shinobi by teaching you the lessons that any new genin would learn. However, once I've decided you can begin to lax on the 'repair' phase, you will also begin learning lessons that only toku-betsu jounin begin to learn as well as ANBU initiates. It is my goal, Uzumaki-san, to make a true shinobi out of you. Everything from your outfit, to your public attitude, will be changed."

Shimura picked up one of the papers he had in front of him and cleared his throat.

"Be at ease, however, you make act as you see fit while in private or amongst _only_ friends. Be warned, that your days of running amok in this village are over. Your pranks, if you should continue to perform them, will not be permitted within the village's walls. Your blatant disrespect of anyone who is your superior without provaction; ends here. Believing that it is not necessary to learn the names of your superiors and comrades-in-arms; ends here. At exactly 0500 hours, you will be awake and ready for your morning meal. At exactly 0515 hours you will be doing morning calisthenics along-side the shinobi who train within these walls. You will follow the lead of the day's squad leader until 0800. Whatever order the squad leader gives you shall obey. Understand? Good."

Danzo gave the paper a once-over before speaking again. His audience remained silent which was just as well, he would've punished them had they had the gall to interrupt him.

"At 0800 hours, you will be required to create a certain number of shadow clones. These clones will be lead to separate rooms where they will be instructed to read whichever books or training manuals that have been assigned for that specific day. You, yourself, will be lead to a training room by Neko and Hatake where I will personally begin to train you in whichever way I see fit. At 1200 hours you will be given a three-hour break for lunch and to allow your body to cool-down. You can use this three-hours however you wish; understand this, you will not be allowed to leave this base. At 0300 hours, you will report to this room where you will once again create clones for individual training. From 0300 until 2300 hours, you will train as I say. I have not made a solid schedule for these hours for one simple reason; a shinobi's life is never set in stone."

At this point, Danzo laid the paper atop the others and leaned forward, he placed his elbows on the desk and inter-linked the fingers of both hands together while resting his chin atop them. His eye bore down upon the young blonde.

"You will come to understand, by instinct, that at any given moment your life can be flipped upside down. A shinobi must always be prepared for the unexpected. He or she must be prepared to drop everything at a moment's notice in order to serve their village. Whether you have just laid down to sleep after being awake for more than a day straight, or if you and your love have just exchanged wedding vows. No matter what, be it family, or personal opinion; Konoha comes first. Remember that Uzumaki. Remember that when you are given an order, you are to obey it unless said order is directly against the good of the village. Example, if I ordered you to use a high-level jutsu in the middle of the village. This goes against the safety and stability of the village's security. Therefore, you are allowed to use your personal discretion to disobey the order."

Danzo paused for a moment, wondering if the genin understood even a word of what was just said. He knew, from reports, that Uzumaki would always put Konoha first, however, that was mostly because the village was all the boy had. Once the boy began making friends and alliances amongst within the corp, if he should be so lucky as a jinchuuriki to find love, then the boy's true character would be exposed. Would he be like Hatake Sakumo, abandon the mission in order to save a friend? Or would he be like the young Hatake Kakashi? Mission first, friends second. Of course, that was the motto of Danzo's ROOT shinobi, the difference between them and Uzumaki was their station. Uzumaki Naruto would one day be a very influential shinobi, either through his own wiles or through the machinisms of others. The biggest change in Uzumaki's life is when the news of his heritage is revealed. Danzo could already see how much of an uproar the village would be in, not to mention the other villages, especially Iwa.

"I believe that is enough for now. You will learn your schedule once you start it, which will be the day after tomorrow. Until then I suggest you begin to prepare yourself, do not fret over your attire, a training outfit has already been ordered and put together. Uzumaki, there is something I wish for you to understand. You are not as special as your ego makes you believe. The reason for this training, the reason for this chance, is _not_ because of who your father was. It makes no difference to me that you are the son of a Kage. If it were not for the Kyuubi within you, this village would've simple looked at you with disappointment as you wasted away due to your laziness. Just look at the grandson of the Sandaime; Konohamaru-kun is still a child but that does not excuse his spoiled behaviour. He has an elite instructor yet he believes that if he can somehow defeat his grandfather then he will become Hokage."

Danzo stood up from his desk, gathering the papers he had prepared and placing them into the manilla folder they were to be carried in. He held out the folder to his side and in front of Naruto's eyes a ROOT-nin appeared out of thin air, took the folder, and disappeared just as quickly as he had arrived. The one-eyed cripple took hold of his cane and moved around the desk and made his way towards the exit, passing Naruto as he did so.

"Neko, please escort Naruto back to his room. I believe he'll be ready to move on his own by tomorrow. Good evening gentlemen." With that, the elder left the room.

For his part, Naruto continued struggling from his place on the floor to get out of the wooden binding the cat-masked man had him in. Broad wooden branches were wrapped tightly around his entire body. Thinner branches were wrapped individually around his fingers to prevent any jutsu being used. Covering his mouth was an imperceptibly strong leaf. Naruto didn't know what it was about the wood that seemed to sap his strength, he figured it must be some type of blood-line or something that made people weak if they were touching it. He was still much to angry to converse with the fox again, no matter how much the furry beast's words made sense.

Neko sighed as he stared down at the struggling jinchuuriki. Even if he wasn't a Senju, and his "blood-line" came from the twisted experiments of the traitor Orochimaru, the Mokuton that was being used was at least on par with the Shodaime's; if it could subdue the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, that is. Without a word, Neko turned and began walking towards the door, Naruto dragged across the floor behind him thanks to the Mokuton. Neko had the briefest thought that it was almost like he was _walking_ the Kyuubi as if it were a pet. Though Naruto's struggling figure erased that mental image.

* * *

><p><strong>~Flashback (Neko-centric)<strong>~

_Neko grit his teeth as the door slammed open once again, the enraged features of Uzumaki Naruto appearing within the room as the dust began to clear a bit. Neko sped through a series of hand-signs and slammed his hands together _

_"**Mokuton: Mokujōheki**" he intoned. A half dome appeared in front of him, the opening facing him as the actual dome was forced against the door just as three yokai-chakra arms crashed against it. Not wasting any time, Neko sped through another series of hand-signs and yelled out his next jutsu._

_**"Mokuton: Mokusatsu Shibari no Jutsu!" **From the center of the dome, branches shot out and quickly overwhelmed Naruto. Once Neko could feel the decrease of yokai, he collapsed the dome and walked into the room.  
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_"Uzumaki-san, it appears that you have not settled down even if it's been eight hours now. I must commend you on your stamina, even if most of it isn't yours right now.' Neko once again went through a series of hand-signs before intoning his next attack. '**Mokuton: Shichūrō no Jutsu**"  
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_Making sure not to put too much chakra in the jutsu, Neko watched as four walls shot up around Naruto and finally a fifth grew over the top to completely seal Naruto within it. Letting his hands fall to his sides, Neko breathed out a sigh of relief. Despite his calm demeanor, the Uzumaki's attempts to either attack him or escape had taken quite a toll on Neko's reserves. The ANBU almost struck out lethally when a chuckle was heard from behind him. He calmed himself, forcibly, when he instantly recognized his senior's chakra.  
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_"Hatake-sempai! You should not sneak up on someone like that, I could've killed you!" Kakashi chuckled at this and waved a hand dismissively.  
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_"I wasn't worried about that Tenzo.' Said man slumped a bit at the casual dismissal of his skills as well as the equally-casual mention of his name. 'So~ how is he? I see you had to use your prison technique. I also see that you have learned how to manage it's size even better than last time! Look! No broken buildings!" The Hatake spoke cheerfully even as his kouhai slumped further and further.  
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_"Hatake-sempai. . . you do not need to go so far.' Neko shook his head before straightening back up and looking into the room. 'Uzumaki-san is quite talented for a berserker. He never truly attacked the same way twice after each time that I stopped him. He also stopped attacking headfirst after only the third try, after that he began using clones and those chakra arms."  
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_Kakashi, who was currently resting most of his body-weight on the single crutch under his right arm, gave a thoughtful look towards the wooden prison. "Yes, I was watching the last two tries. Those arms remind me of another Uzumaki who had an almost similar method of attacking at long-range."  
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_Neko only needed a moment to think about what was just said before nodding. "Yes, the chakra-chains. Do you believe that Uzumaki-san will one day be capable of using such a technique?" _

_The ANBU was truly intrigued. The chakra-chains employed by Uzumaki Kushina were truly a sight to behold, it was rumored that those chains were capable of subduing a bijuu. During the Third War a rumor had gotten out that Kushina had been there when Suna unleashed their own jinchuuriki, Kushina was said to have subdued the fully released Ichibi on her after her team fell. That was one of the turning points in the war between Konoha and Suna. Also, if she was capable of such a feat, it would explain why Kushina had never had a problem as a jinchuuriki herself. If she could subdue a bijuu in reality, then in her own mindscape she should have no problem doing the same. Even if it _was_ the Kyuubi. He could only wonder at the concept of the potential the son of the Yondaime Hokage would have, on top of having access to the chakra-chains, being the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, and being fully trained. It was almost mind-boggling._

_"Naruto has never given any indication that he has that ability.' Kakashi said at length. 'Then again, he has never truly been given a chance to discover what he's capable of. Who knows? With his pedigree, you might not be the only Mokuton-user Konoha has to offer any more. Then again, Naruto might be just the run-of-the-mill jinchuuriki who happens to be the son of a Hokage. He might be the next-big-thing when it comes to fuuinjutsu, or he might not ever be even capable of making a storage seal. He could be the next big ninjutsu-specialist or he might be limited to shadow clones and the academy jutsu. Only time will tell. I know he's smart, maybe not Nara-smart, but he's no idiot."_

_The two nin stared at the prison for a few more moments before Neko finally closed the door and once again took up position across the hall from Naruto's room. Kakashi waved a hand as he made his way back down the hall to his own room, as he moved further away he called out one last tidbit.  
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_"If there's anything that I know, it's that one can never underestimate Uzumaki Naruto. Also, once Danzo is done with him, we will truly know what Naruto is capable of."  
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_Neko simply stared at the door as those words milled about his mind, he couldn't help but admit to himself that he was very interested in finding out what type of shinobi Uzumaki Naruto would become.  
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* * *

><p><strong>~Flashback (Naruto-centric. From when he loses control)~<br>**

_Naruto sighed as he once again held up the comic-book in his hands so the splashing water wouldn't get it wet. He briefly looked up to glare at the towering beast behind the cage bars. Seeing pointy teeth that were longer than he was tall, the young blonde spun around and faced the wall and returned his attention to the reading material.  
><em>

_"**BOY! HOW DARE YOU EVEN FEIGN TO IGNORE ONE SUCH AS I!**" The Kyuubi smashed up against the bars, chaotically sending it's tails to attack different points the prison over and over again. It hoped, after half an hour, that It's container would finally crack and respond. '**This boy is more stubborn than his mother!**' was it's latest thought.  
><em>

_"Yea, yea. I'm scared. Please have mercy on me o' great bunny-chan" Naruto murmured, never taking his eyes off the book. The response to this was another earth-shaking roar.  
><em>

_"**BUNNY! COME INSIDE THIS CAGE AND I'LL SHOW YOU WHO THE 'BUNNY-CHAN' IS WHEN I RIP YOU LIMB FROM LIMB!**" Naruto sighed as he turned around again and glared at the cage. "Can't you be silent? I'm trying to read here!"  
><em>

_At this, something unexpected happened. Naruto watched as, what appeared to be, a giant metal bar appeared and wrapped itself around the Kyuubi's maw instantly silencing it. The only sounds that could now be heard were the splashing of the water inside the Kyuubi's cage, the slamming of tails within in and the incensed growls coming from the beast. His attention instantly captured, Naruto stood up and moved towards the cage.  
><em>

_"You're not messing with me are you? That really did just happen, right?' Naruto stopped a few yards away from the cage and tried to get a good look at the fox when a literal light-bulb appeared over his head. 'That cage is too dark, let's light it up!" The blonde Uzumaki was all smiles when the cage lit up brightly revealing the Kyuubi in all it's glory.  
><em>

_The pre-teen continued his inspection of the fox when he remembered something that had bugged him the first time he came here.  
><em>

_"This water has got to go too! And let's change the scenery!" Naruto was on a roll now as the water vanished instantly and the sewer they were in vanished as well to be replaced by white blankness. Tapping his chin for a moment, Naruto smiled and closed his eyes as he thought of what he wanted to appear.  
><em>

_The white-scape vanished in a blur of color and the Kyuubi found itself, and It's cage, resting in what appeared to be a secluded forest. The cage had shrunk in size, as did the Kyuubi. It found the top of It's head barely reaching the canopy of the nearby trees. The boy was currently lay on a branch of a tree directly in front of the cage. The Kyuubi also noticed something else, after these latest changes, the boy seemed to be out of breath, or at least looking as if he had just spent a few hours training.  
><em>

_"**It seems I'm still in control on the outside, though your body is weakening.**" The boy sat up and faced the cage now, his face a picture of boredom. "I know, I can't really control myself outside of here right now, but I know what's going on. It's kinda like a day-dream. I attacked Kaka-sensei and the old man, the ANBU guy used some sort of jutsu to take me down. Not sure how long I was asleep but I'm awake now, so to speak. Speaking of which, why is it that time is moving faster outside? I remember. . . in Wave, I came here and it seemed like I was yelling at you forever, but then I was back in the real-world and it was like only a couple of seconds passed."  
><em>

_The Kyuubi regarded the boy for a few moments before shrugging, nothing would be lost from answering. "**The changes you made, they take energy and mental time. When you. . . silenced me, you lost two hours in real time. Then when you got rid of the water and changed the landscape, you used up enough energy that your body jolted back to consciousness. However your rage was still dominant and remained in control. Though you should've left as well, though been more susceptible to your emotions while you attacked. So, now you will answer my question. Why are you still here?**"  
><em>

_It didn't sit well with the Kyuubi to be ignorant of something, no matter what it was. It also angered the bijuu to have to ask the boy to get the answer It wanted. The boy, for his part, seemed not to notice or care and answered cheerfully.  
><em>

_"That's because I'm still pissed off!' The answer came with a bright, devious, grin. ' I've always asked Old-Man Hokage who my parents were and he would always tell me that he couldn't tell me. He also 'couldn't' tell me about you being sealed inside me. Look how both of those actions turned out!"  
><em>

_Kyuubi narrowed It's eyes in thought before nodding. Much as the fox could careless, the boy was right about his situation. Kushina had known about the Kyuubi from a young age and had come to terms with it before becoming a shinobi. Then again, she was already of significant age to realize what was happening when the Kyuubi was transferred from Mito to the young redhead. Kushina had to live with this new burden atop her memories of her destroyed homeland. She had years to cope. Naruto was informed at a later age, after already spending a significant amount of time believing that he was some sort of evil person that the village hated, and then to learn of the Kyuubi within him? Then about his parents only a few months later? Even the Kyuubi couldn't understand the idiocy in tempting fate by skirting the dangers of creating an unstable jinchuuriki.  
><em>

_"**So. . . you're here because you wish to allow your frustrations to be acknowledged? What do you hope to gain by this?**" Despite the fact that the Kyuubi still hated the boy, It couldn't deny the fact that talking to him was infinitely better than simply sitting in the cage with nothing to do but lament It's situation. Being able to talk to someone,_ anyone, _was a welcome introduction to It's dull life._

_Naruto scrunched his face as he thought about the questions. "Nothing really. I'm just pissed off, and besides, in here I can pretty much do what I want! At least, as long as you aren't having a fit and being all loud."  
><em>

_Kyuubi's immediate response was to roar out It's denials of 'having fits' but it swallowed It's anger realizing the boy would only win this little verbal exchange.  
><em>

_"**You wont amount to much out there. The masked-one is having no trouble keeping you subdued.**" The Kyuubi commented, wondering if this would cause the boy to change his attitude. The Kyuubi was disappointed at the boy's response. "Yea, but that doesn't mean I'm not pissed. Better to try and fail than to not try and still fail. I don't care what people say, Uzumaki Naruto doesn't lay down and admit defeat!"  
><em>

_The fox shook it's head before turning away and facing the other direction. It's massive head came down and lay on the floor, It's eyes shutting close and It prepared to sleep. "**Do what you will boy, as long as you don't get us killed then I could care-less. If you think that I'll just randomly give you my chakra whenever you want you had better think twice. Get stronger boy, the Kyuubi no Kitsune does not cater to weak containers.**"  
><em>

_Naruto chuckled before a wave of dizziness assaulted his senses and he blacked out. His eyes immediately opened to find more darkness. Feeling around, he found himself in some sort of wooden box. Sighing, he leaned back so he could stretch out his legs. Leg cramps sucked and he had no wish to ever get one again. As he thought about going to sleep, he heard voices from outside the box.  
><em>

_". . .chains. . .capable of. . . that technique?" ". . .never. . .indication. . . who knows. . .gree. . .Mokuton. . .fuuin. . ." Naruto couldn't hear anymore after that, hearing the door close told him why.  
><em>

_'Chains? Is that part of some technique? And what does 'indication' mean? Mokuton. . . that's that thing that the Shodaime could do right? What was it again? And seals? What about seals? Hand-seals? Seals that swim in the water? Sealed-tight? What am I even thinking now?' Naruto gave a sigh of disgust as he realized how fast his thoughts were derailed by his own imagination. He went over the main words he had heard again. "Chains", "Mokuton", and "Seals". As much as he tried, he couldn't come up with anything that could explain these words and what they had to do with him. Naruto eventually shrugged off his questions and decided to get some sleep, who knew when he was going to be awakened tomorrow, or today. 'What time is it anyway? Was it night-time when they showed me that folder? I wonder how Sakura-chan is doing. Man I could really go for some ramen right now. . .Gah!' Naruto shook his head furiously and closed his eyes, he hadn't even realized it that time. He really need to get his thoughts under control.  
><em>

* * *

><p>"His is a truly remarkable mind.' The young voice commented idly. 'Perhaps a little red and blue this time. This one will come out just perfect."<p>

'**He will ****come around eventually, they always do.**' The whispery voice echoed within the young one's mind. Said person nodded absently.

"Uzumaki Naruto-san. What will you do? I wonder."

* * *

><p><strong>Aha! I wrote a lot huh? Jeez, didn't mean to. I just couldn't stop typing, also I only proofread this once. I'm sure there are plenty of minor mistakes. <strong>**I think that my muse is slowly coming back to me on this one. **

**For all to know: I still don't have a direction to lead this fic in. For now, I'm going to just go off the top of my head. Think of it like watching some random anime, never know what's going to happen next.  
><strong>

**As I've said sometime before, I'm not going to rush anything. I know it might be frustrating that there's been a lot of talking and no true action. Most of this has been discussing Naruto's ignorance and lack of an education. I also haven't gone into any detail whatsoever about how the rest of the Rookie 9 are taking the news, if they received any, about Team 7. I think I'll do that when Naruto finally emerges from ROOT's HQ. I never really enjoyed fics that were focusing on the protagonist and all of a sudden it focuses on some minor character and goes a bit in-depth about whatever they're thinking. Half the time it's inconsequential.  
><strong>

**Same with the manga, I mean, Naruto is about to fight Madara and suddenly we're treated to Kabuto's backstory. Bor~ing! IMHO!  
><strong>

**~C.D. the XPG!  
><strong>

**Omake!  
><strong>

_The white-scape vanished in a blur of color and the Kyuubi found itself, and it's cage, resting upon some sort of wooden platform. It spun around and quickly took in it's surroundings and what it saw made it's eyes widen in disbelief. For there, sitting on a stool, was it's container. It's, now, hundred-foot tall container!  
><em>

_Naruto stared down at the carrier cage that the fox was now in and chuckled before turning away from it and raising his hand "Miso Ramen and keep it coming!" he shouted out and it was then that the Kyuubi understood what was going on. It was also then, that the fox collapsed the floor of the cage and covered It's head with It's fore-paws in embarassment.  
><em>

_Here It was, the mightest of the bijuu; the ultimate chakra-being, the devastator of entire landscapes, scourge of all that is innocent, the Great and Powerful Kyuubi no Kitsune! Only to be reduced to what? Being shrunk in size to where it would be no bigger than a common house-cat and it's cage now resembling a rabbit-cage. There was a water-bottle attached to the outside of the cage meant for the fox to drink from for Kami's sake! And what kind of landscape did the boy create? A ramen stand!  
><em>


	6. Brief

"Silence. This meeting is now in session." Hiruzen calmly ordered from the head of the room. His ever-present advisors sat on either side of him. To his right, next to Koharu, sat Danzo. The other occupants of the room had already quieted when their leader had entered the room and now simply waited for the reason they had been summoned.

"As you all have noticed, the civilian portion of this council are not present. The reason for this being that this meeting is a shinobi matter." Left unsaid was the civilians were not to be informed whatsoever about the meeting.

Once Hiruzen was satisfied that his orders wouldn't be met with any opposition he gestured to Danzo. As the crippled man leaned forward and opened a folder that was in front of him, two ANBU made their way through the room and distributed a folder to each clan head. Danzo eyed them all for a moment as they opened their folders and he felt a measure of smugness when he saw many eyes widen.

"As you are all capable of reading, I will simply summarize this new information for you. Uzumaki Naruto shall hence forth be known as Namikaze Naruto. Yes, he is the son of the Yondaime Hokage for those who did not know. Yes, he is the son of Uzumaki Kushina. Their relationship, while in plain sight, was not something that was widely known or accepted. I've heard rumors that many within this village simply chose to ignore the closeness between the two and saw Naruto as simply an orphan who took on _that_ foreigner's clan name for no true viable reason. This information you may share with your clans and allies, there is no reason that it needs to be kept from the civilians either seeing as how Naruto will be entering the upcoming Chunin exams under his father's name. Also be aware, that Naruto was initially against the idea."

There were a few looks of surprise and it was Koharu, of all people, that answered the obvious question.

"Over the course of his training under Danzo, I've taken the initiative and held a few conversations with Naruto-kun. He admitted to me that he wanted to make a name for himself, not simply gain a better standing in the village because of who his father was. I agreed with him that it was a noble idea, but nonetheless he would have to simply adapt. Naturally, there will be many in the village who will now try to gain Naruto's favor for no other reason than the fact that he is the son of the Yondaime. I told him that he could use this as a means to better his observational skills as well as his political savvy. He will now need to be capable of determining when a person is being honest with him and when a person is simply trying to, pardon my tongue but, kiss his ass."

There were nods of agreement to Koharu's words and a few smirks at her swear. It was widely known that Koharu wasn't one for vulgar language. If she would even say the word "ass" _now_ then that meant she was still irritated with something that Naruto had said.

"He pissed you off didn't he?" Yamanaka Inoichi asked, a small grin on his face. Koharu glared at him before letting out an unladylike snort.

"He argued with me for _two hours_! The majority of the time he did no more than say he didn't care, the rest of the time he actually put his mind to use and attempted to poke holes in the idea.' At this she turned to Danzo. 'You certainly upgraded his vocabulary, I'll give you that."

If he were a lesser man, Danzo would've smirked. Instead, he gave the barest of nods. "Uzumaki has made judicious use of the Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu's greatest application. The memory transfer. Once he learned this he quickly figured out his own routine. While he was performing the physical parts of his training, his clones were either reading the books and scrolls that he was given or he was working on his chakra control. Unfortunately, it took a while for him to accept the fact that his control will deteriorate over a few month's time no matter how much he works on it."

To the confusion on the faces of the clan heads, Hiruzen clarified for them.

"The seal that Minato used to seal the Kyuubi functions in a way that it leaks the demon's chakra into Naruto's system. Think of the seal as a filter, it drains a bit of the demon's chakra every so often and purifies it before adding it to Naruto-kun's reserves. Upon further study, Jiraiya-kun and I have theorized that by the time Naruto-kun is eighteen years old, he will have the largest chakra pool that anyone has ever had in recorded history."

There was a bit of silence as this new information was digested. Due to Naruto's behavior since even before joining the academy, it was hard for even the veterans of the Third Shinobi War to keep in mind the destructive potential of Konoha's young jinchuuriki. Naruto, with the proper training and mind-set, could become greater than the Sannin; greater than the 'God of Shinobi'; he could surpass his own father and even go as far as becoming the greatest shinobi to ever walk the Elemental Nations...

...or he could simply be a loud, unpredictable, heart-on-his-sleeve wearing clown that would _maybe_ make Chunin one day. Trying to focus on the potential fact that Naruto would one day be a dangerous foe to his enemies wasn't something that many in the village had to do because of the way the boy presented himself. Falling asleep during classes in the academy if he didn't just outright skip them; wearing an almost blinding orange outfit while having no skills to cover the lack of stealth or subtly; having no ability at duplicity. In fact, it was entirely due to the Kyuubi within the Uzumaki that Momochi Zabuza hadn't finished off the entire team after incapacitating Kakashi and with the confusion and shock of Sasuke's suicide. It was also ironic that Naruto used those same emotions, that many said he couldn't control, to lose himself in blood-lust and kill Zabuza and his partner.

"If the seal is draining the Kyuubi's chakra, what will happen to it once there is no more chakra to be drained?" Nara Shikaku questioned. A genius he might be, but even he wasn't sure how such a feat was even possible seeing as how the bijuu were beings of chakra. Would the Kyuubi cease to exist? Was it even possible to drain all it's chakra?

"We are not sure at this time.' Hiruzen answered. 'Jiraiya-kun and I have debated on that exact same question for a while now. He has also been discreetly inquiring around the nations to see if there is possibly anyone that might know. For a fact, I know that if the Uzumaki clan were still around they would easily be able to figure this out. To that extent, Jiraiya-kun has been also searching for any survivors of Uzushio. A recent message from him revealed that a spy near Kusa has seen a within that village that has a very unique shade of red hair. She is an orphan, from what the spy can tell, and there are no others with the girl's hair coloring. Jiraiya-kun is now personally looking into the situation."

* * *

><p><em>Naruto's journal entry. Day [illegible word crossed out] <em>

_Ah who cares what day it is? It's Sunday! I'm pissed! Jeez...ugh...ma~n. Kyuubi just pointed out that I wrote out those noises. Baka-Fox. Anyway, I was told that I had to keep a diary. They say it's called a "journal" but I know a diary when I see one and now I gotta write one. Hm. Well, ever since that wood-user guy trapped me in that box and the talk I had with Baka-Fox, I haven't done much 'cept the routine they gave me. I gotta wake up really early every morning! The worst part? Is they make me eat what they call porridge. One of those masked guys said it has vitamin pills inside it that are supposed to help my body _overcome the growth-stunting_ that I gave it or something. Whatever. All that really means is I can't have ramen! After the slop, I have to do exercises. Running, sit-ups, push-ups, wall-running...not wall-walking. You know, like up and down like Kaka-sensei taught us, but wall-running. It's a big ole room that I have to do it in. Gotta walk up to the middle of the wall and then go sideways. The room isn't normal though, it's all egg-shaped. So there I am having to run in an egg-shape. I guess it isn't so bad though cuz my chakra control has gotten better, it's one of them _benefits.

_After all the exercises, I have to spar with the old-man's soldiers. HA! I can call him "old-man" here cuz he said he isn't going to read this, but even if I do it here, I have to call him "Danzo-sensei" or else I have to do push-ups. Gah! It's so hard though! That first day I was doing like, a hundred-thousand push-ups!  
><em>

_**You only did two-hundred imbecile...**  
><em>

_Baka-Fox! Look what you made me write! Argh! I wrote that too...and this! and that!...[illegible words crossed out]  
><em>

_Okay! Anyway, sparring. Right. Gotta spar with masked guys, 'cept they aint masked when I fight them. Kaka-sensei said that the _unmasked ones_ haven't completed their training or something. I don't know what that's all about because they are really strong and totally badass! Well, they aren't too badass when they are beating mine into the ground. Ugh, those guys are really strong and they don't have any tells! Iruka-sensei is so full of it! Telling me all those times that an enemy can be psyched out or I can make the enemy lose his temper and _ . _ on it to win. These guys are like zombies or something. No emotions. Kaka-sensei just looked at me funny when I asked him about it. Guess he doesn't know. _

* * *

><p>"It says here that Uzumaki has been attempting to use <em>that<em> technique. How far along is he?" Questioned Hyuga Hiashi. Upon seeing the page he was on, Tsume had held her own dossier so the others could literally get on the same page. Once they were, many eyes widened.

Danzo, knowing exactly which technique Hiashi was referring to, shook his head. "I will not divulge his progress but rest-assured that should Uzumaki ever gain access to that technique, he'll make sure to let everyone know. He will never truly be one for subtly, however I find his ability to simply disappear or to remain hidden when the time calls for it an even trade off. Of the list of shinobi that I have at my disposal, the only one that was capable of finding Uzumaki after I ordered him to hide himself anywhere within the village, Hatake was the only one who could."

There were a few snorts at that. It was no secret that Naruto was capable of out-maneuvering ANBU in his younger days. Though that had come from the fact that the operatives weren't allowed to use their full potential against the boy. With that handicap, it was beyond easy for the young jinchuuriki to vanish from his would-be captors.

"Why not have that academy teacher search for him, from all the stories I've heard, that Umino guy could find Naruto in less than ten minutes whenever the boy would skip class." Akimichi Chouza, the largest man in the room, asked. He had heard from his son about the many times that Umino Iruka would drag the blonde-haired delinquent into class after finding out Naruto had tried to ditch.

"He tried and failed like the rest, Akimichi-san.' Danzo answered, much to a few in the room's surprise. 'Yes, at first Umino-san found Uzumaki within ten minutes just as it was reported that he was capable of doing. However, it was immediately made apparent that Uzumaki would give himself up, and allow Umino-san to _catch_ him. I ordered Uzumaki to hide to the best of his abilities or he would be punished. Umino-san tried once more; five hours later he gave up."

"He never thought to check his own apartment." Kakashi filled in with a chuckle which caught on with the others. Danzo shrugged.

"Uzumaki Naruto constantly proves himself a walking contradiction. Loud personality, like his mother. Loud clothing, which his father was almost the same. Yet, he can hide practically in plain sight and even the top operative would not be capable of finding him. I suppose that only speaks volumes about Hatake."

Kakashi eye-smiled at that before returning his focus to the orange book in his hand. Tsume and Koharu gave him dirty looks, both of which were ignored, and the rest of the council simply shook their heads in exasperation.

"There was a complication that arose during Uzumaki's training. One which I should have seen coming, however even I could not have predicted those events. Page fourteen to sixteen." Danzo had appeared a bit irritated as he spoke, though his rival and fellow advisors were able to tell from experience that it was more of a resigned irritation rather than one that would fester until it turned into fury.

* * *

><p><em>Naruto's journal entry 2. It's Wednesday<em>

_It's been like, a month since my first entry but in all honesty, I forgot. Which sucks! Cuz I told the old-man that I had been making my weekly entries. Good thing he isn't going to read this. _

_Today I met two new people. By that I mean they actually told me their names, or at least their code-names. From what I hear, no one under the old-man's command have real names. They all forgot them or something. Seems kinda sad. Anyway, one is called Shin and the other is called Sai.  
><em>

* * *

><p>Kakashi sighed as he closed his book and put it away.<p>

"I wonder how you could've been surprised by Naruto's reaction to the _Final Test_ as you call it. It was a forgone conclusion that a person like him would attempt to make friends with every single person that didn't look down on him or ignore him. Considering that that includes every single operative of ROOT, seeing as how they had no reason to ignore him or the emotional range to look down on him, he got it into his head that they were potential friends. As Shibi-san would say, _it's only logical that the events that occurred were that which should've been seen ahead of time._

At the end of his little spiel Kakashi had let his voice drop into a monotone and had deepened it as best he could to match Aburame Shibi's.

Said Aburame clan head did not look amused...nor did he look upset, in fact he nodded his head as if in agreement to Kakashi's point. The cyclops sweat-dropped, having a feeling of what he put Gai through every time he pretended he wasn't listening to the eccentric man.

"I take it that the reason I haven't received a notice of the death of an unknown Konoha-nin that never existed is because of Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi questioned lightly. He was actually happy. He never approved of Danzo's methods but the end-result was not something he could argue with.

Danzo looked a bit sullen before giving the slightest of nods.

* * *

><p><em>Naruto's journal entry 3. One week since entry 2!<br>_

_I can't believe what happened today! I had some time off, which doesn't happen a lot but I wasn't complaining, so I went looking for Sai and Shin. Sai had said something yesterday about a test him and Shin were going to take today. They wouldn't tell me what it was and then Sai had to show me some pictures he had drawn of Sasuke. That bastard! I didn't even know he knew Sasuke but the pale-faced bastard has the nerve to draw Sasuke doing embarrassing stuff. It would've been funny before _that_ mission but even I know to have respect for the dead. And Sasuke-teme was my teammate! Sai has no right drawing crap like that! Why can't he just stick to birds and flowers and all that other weird stuff he thinks is interesting._

_**He only did it to distract you. You know this.**  
><em>

_Argh! Baka-Fox is making me write things again! Yea, I know Sai was trying to distract me but dammit! It worked. Anyway, that's not the point. I found Shin and Sai on one of the training-fields near the forest exit tunnel. They were fighting, not sparring. They were fighting. I could see it in both their eyes, they were fighting to the death. Well I took care of things quick. I made a bunch of clones and beat them both down and made them tell me what they were doing.  
><em>

_They told me something that still makes me sick to my stomach. They said that they were doing their final test. They're supposed to fight to the death so they can kill their emotions. That only pissed me off more. So I beat them up again and then took them to the base medical wing. After that I went and had a talk with the old man.  
><em>

_He wasn't surprised at all! I was hoping he didn't know, I was hoping that maybe he started that test but eventually he realized it was too messed up and stopped it but some of the guys didn't get the memo or something. But that's not how it was.  
><em>

_So I got pissed off._

_**Ha! If it hadn't been for those two squads of ROOT then you would've killed the old-man.  
><strong>_

_Baka-Fox is right. I would've killed Danzo-sensei. That baka Tenzo showed up though and tried to stop me again like last time. Heh, boy was he surprised when I had Baka-Fox cut off his chakra and used my ultimate technique.  
><em>

_**I never liked those things whenever **_**she_ used them_**

_Baka-Fox is talking about my mother. Yea, I forgot to make an entry about that. Kaka-sensei and Danzo-sensei told me about my parents and what they knew about the night Baka-Fox was sealed inside me. Baka-Fox wont say a thing about it though. He says that one day me and him will fight to see who is the one in control or something like that. I know I'm not strong enough to fight him now, so I wonder why he wont take advantage of that.  
><em>

_**Because you have to unlock the seal before we can fight...as I've already told you.**  
><em>

_Yea, I don't know why the Baka-Fox doesn't take advantage now, must be scared. I _am _pretty awesome though so it's too be expected._

_**I hate you**  
><em>

_So anyway, Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato. I think I haven't made an entry about it because it's still kinda hard to wrap my mind around it. My mother was the last of the Uzumaki clan after Uzushiogakure (that's where my clan was from...I HAVE A CLAN!) was destroyed. Uzumaki Mito, the Shodai Hokage's wife, was the first jinchuuriki of Kyuubi. She gave the burden to my mother who carried it till she got pregnant with me. And who got her pregnant? The Yondaime Hokage! How nuts is that, the Yondaime Hokage, my idol, and the guy I hate the most. He is everything I want to be like as a shinobi (before I surpass him of course!) and he was also the one that condemned me to this life I live. And he's my dad.  
><em>

_Enough of that though. I'll save all that for a different entry. Koharu-obaa-chan told me that after my training is over and during the final part of the Chunin Exams, that I'm going to be entered in later this year, that my heritage is going to be revealed. I didn't really like that though. Kami rest his soul but, Sasuke was an asshole with all that "I'm an Uchiha so I'm the best" crap. If the Uchiha were considered great then I know that the villagers are going to be trying to suck-up to me for being the son of the Yondaime. If they believe it that is. I'm not going to assume anything. You know what they say when you assume. You make a assum out of e...or something like that. Sounds better when Kaka-sensei says it.  
><em>

_Anyway, I told Danzo-sensei that I'll never lift my hand as a shinobi again if Sai and Shin, or any of the other ROOT guys are forced to fight to the death ever again. Well, after he beat me down in a spar, he told me that I could have my way. But...  
><em>

* * *

><p>"Fifty-three bandits in two days? He didn't even have time to get over his true first before he cut down five more." Inoichi stated evenly. He didn't what he was reading. The report was obviously written up by one of Danzo's ROOT, it was so clinical it might as well have been written by an Aburame. The observer described Naruto's appearance amongst the bandits within their camp. It then went on to describe, in graphic detail, each of Naruto's kills. The blonde had not stopped until the last bandit was dead.<p>

"It was necessary' countered Danzo. 'His first two kills were done while under the blood-lust of the Kyuubi. While I have no intention of attempting the impossible by ridding Uzumaki of his emotions, he _did_ need to learn that in our line of work he'll sooner or later be called upon to kill. I questioned him extensively, both discreetly and directly, on how he would be affected when it came to taking a life. Each of his responses had all proved that he shouldn't be a shinobi. Even in scenarios in which all the odds were against him and he would have no choice but to kill his enemy, he attempted to create a new scenario in which no one would have to die and everyone would be saved."

There were more than a few clan heads that visibly responded negatively to that bit of information. It was dangerous to have such optimism as a shinobi. It led to more than just heartbreak it could potentially led to suicide. It was a documented statistic in nearly every hidden village.

"Uzumaki demanded that I stop the test that I have been using since even before his father was born. So, I made a deal with him. Kill in the service of Konoha when he's required to without hesitation and I would grant his wish. The results aren't as bad as many of you may think. He didn't just simply go out and massacre the first group of bandits he came across. The two groups he wiped out have been known to run in the slave-ring circles. They kidnap victims from the main roads and after they have their fun, they sell whomever they captured to a nearby slave-ring. Uzumaki didn't take well to hearing about that. Which was even more disappointing seeing as how he believed that no one could be that _evil_, as he put it."

"I've said it once and I'll say it again, something needs to be done about the academy. I mean, even if the Uchiha fell victim to ignorance of much needed information. Uzumaki's naivete is testament alone to what can happen when the next generation of shinobi and kunoichi believe that they are entering some kind of fairy-tail world where everyone goes home alive and well at the end of the day. Rape doesn't exist, and no one ever dies of anything other than sickness or old-age."

The new voice brought the full attention of the council and Sandaime to the far corner of the room where a very familiar-looking figure stood.

"Jiraiya-kun. You've returned earlier than expected.' Jiraiya opened his mouth to respond to his sensei's words but was cut-off. 'Of course, I knew you have been here for the entirety of this meeting. So please save the theatrics."

Jiraiya slumped into dejection, muttering 'spoil-sport' under his breath. With a sigh he moved to the middle of the room while still staying near the wall so that everyone could see him comfortably.

"I just got back from Kusa. We were right. She's an Uzumaki. I just dropped her off at T&I."

Hiruzen nodded. He knew the girl wasn't going to be tortured or anything similar to that nature. She was simply going to be questioned about any and everything she knew about her heritage. She would then be indoctrinated and join Konoha's forces. It was only slightly saddening to the Sandaime that this was going to be done whether the girl liked it or not. It may have been selfish, but Naruto deserved every bit of happiness he could get, and if forcing a girl from a minor village into making Naruto's life easier, then that's what Hiruzen was going to do. If the two formed a romantic relationship then that only helped Naruto more and it also would help the village down the line once the two reproduced. If they simply kept it at a familial relationship then hopefully the two Uzumaki would one day find a person to start their own separate families with and the village still prospered because of it. A win-win.

"Very well. I believe we have said enough for this meeting. The Chunin Exams start in a few weeks. Danzo I have sent my approval to your office of Naruto-kun's team placement. I have also sent a few suggestions on his teammate's backgrounds. As for the rest of you, I bid you good evening."

With that the Sandaime stood, along with the entire room, and he turned towards the exit. Kakashi gave a flat look to Jiraiya before it was quickly replaced by an eye-smile when the legendary shinobi tossed a red book towards the cyclops.

"Part of a new line, kid. Tell me what you think; it's pre-production."

Kakashi's eye widened and he looked as if he might cry, that was Jiraiya's cue to catch up to his sense. Some of his fans were weird but Kakashi took the cake.

* * *

><p><strong>Been a while huh? <strong>

**I blame Naruto's Brat for this update. Hehe, even though I still took a week or so to actually put it out.  
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**I didn't realize it at first but it has come to my attention that my chapters aren't long at all. I thought about going at least 6k words on this chapter but, I don't know. I just got to where I did and my mind told me that it was a good time to stop. So I did.  
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**Honestly, this chapter was originally going to be a lot shorter, and probably more disappointing. I am more or less disappointed anyways. I know I don't go into a lot of detail with characters or anything else but I'm not that kind of writer. If it's something OC, then I'll go into more detail, but if it's something that you, as the reader, already know (ex: What Jiraiya looks like.) then I'm not going to describe him unless it something that matters to the current situation. For example, if a character is wearing a certain type of outfit like the Akatsuki cloak. That would be something that needs to be described or else the reader might not understand what the situation is exactly.  
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**Another thing I realize is that I'm not going into too much detail about Naruto's training. I realized that I was foolish in thinking that I could take this _that_ slow. This chapter was more or less to give a slight view on what Naruto has been up to, which honestly wasn't much. I'm sure it's obvious that he is now capable of a certain ability. I do realize that in the chapter that both he, Kyuubi and others refer to it as a technique. Only one person has ever been known for being capable of using that technique and now that Naruto is capable of it as well, it simply comes to mind that it's a technique that can be learned instead of an ability that can only be used by certain people, almost like a blood-line.  
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**I couldn't tell you when the next chapter is going to come out, though I might do a small interlude that has to do with characters like Sakura and the other Rookies are doing. I am, eventually, going to get back to Sakura, she still has a part to play.  
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**CD the XPG!  
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	7. Teammates

_Naruto's Journal Entry 76._

_I have long since gotten tired of having a routine for these journal entries so, instead, I simply update as I see fit. Case in point, I made an entry just yesterday. I figured that instead of making entries weekly, or monthly, or even daily; I'll update whenever I have something significant to write. Today is a good example.  
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_I met my teammates for the Chunin Exams last night. They had only just gotten to the village when I met them and today is the first day of the exams. I was only able to talk with my teammates for a few minutes before it was time to turn in. Their names are Kisaragi Saemon and Okoi. Apparently they are brother and sister and they_ do _look alike but Okoi introduced herself by her given name, unlike her brother who gave both his surname and given name. Maybe they are adopted siblings? It's not really my business but I am curious so hopefully they'll tell me before they leave after the exams._

_I was given a full dossier on both Saemon-san and Okoi-san by Danzo-sensei. They are apart of a small village here in Fire Country. They are also apart of a clan but it's unlike any clan I've ever heard of. Their clan name is Kouga, but their family names aren't the same as that. Okoi-san herself told me about a few of her comrades, not friends, of hers back in her village. To my understanding, it's different clans that came together and formed a small village. Their files also say that each member of the clan all have their own type of bloodlines and techniques. Due to their size though, I wonder if they could even be considered a minor village. I want to learn more.  
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_Danzo-sensei, and the Kouga's information, assures me that Saemon-san and Okoi-san are more than capable of competing in the exams as my teammates. I'm not trying to sound arrogant or anything but I_ do _know that my over-all level of strength is higher than anyone from my graduating class. _

_Speak of which, this will be the first time since before the mission to Wave that I'll be interacting with the others that I graduated with. I wonder how much they've changed besides what it says in their shinobi files.  
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_One last thing. Saemon has a technique that I would think was the most amazing skill in espionage I've ever seen...if it wasn't being used for this exam in the way that it is.  
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* * *

><p>Naruto hummed lightly to himself as he sealed away his journal and placed the scroll he had used inside his pack. He had a lot of complaints about writing a "diary" when he was first ordered to but now he hardly went anywhere outside of training without it. Even though he labeled the entries as "journal entries" he considered the journal to be his own auto-biography. He had, forcibly, come to the realization that he was the only Uzumaki and Namikaze left in Konoha and probably the Elemental Nations, and he did know that one day he wanted a family. He still wasn't one to look at girls in <em>that<em> way yet but he knew enough to understand that one day he would and after that would come the romance and everything else that that led to.

"Naruto-san! You ready yet? Or are you still writing in your diary?" Naruto looked up at the cheerful voice and quickly jumped to his feet in indignation.

"It's not a diary Okoi-san!" He yelled. Okoi of the Kouga clan was a five-foot-even tomboyish girl with messy, shoulder-length, dark-brown hair that was pulled into a pony-tail in the back, two chin-length bangs framing her face. She was wearing a hip length, purple sleeveless kimono, a red sash tied around her waist and shortened pale hakama that stopped about five inches from her knees. All in all, her clothing was very revealing. Though unlike many of the kunoichi that Naruto had gone to class with in the academy, Okoi's outfit wasn't designed just to attract the attention of the opposite sex. Her outfit was to help her bloodline ability.

Okoi's ability was called "Blood-Absorption". Literally, she had the ability to absorb a person's blood via skin-to-skin contact. The way her outfit was designed was to allow more skin contact when she came across an enemy. It also helped if she was ever captured by a person who had less-than-proper intentions for her "young nubile body", as she put it. The images that had given Naruto had led to him staying awake in bed a little later than he had planned. Maybe him noticing girls was going to be more _sooner_ rather than _later_.

Okoi giggled openly as she leaned forward into the room, her hands behind her back as she looked around the tiny living place.

"Jeez, I think I'd rather sleep out in the forest than in this tiny place. You don't even have a window!" The girl exclaimed, the smile never leaving her face.

"We're underground. A window would be kinda obsolete." Naruto deadpanned. Okoi blinked at that before she laughed out loud.

"That word you just said. I don't think it means; what you think it means." The girl finally said after getting herself under control.

Naruto cocked his head to the side before reaching into his supply pouch and pulling out a small dictionary and quickly thumbed through it looking for the word he had spoken. Once he found it and read the definition he blushed in embarrassment, raising a hand and scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"I guess not hu...mmpffh!" He was cut off when Okoi had suddenly glomped him and hugged him tightly to her less than developed chest.

"Kawaii~!' He wondered about his thoughts concerning her chest. She was two years older than him but had only recently started developing her womanly assets, still he supposed this was kinda cool. ' You're like a little puppy when you tilt your head like that!" Okay. It wasn't cool anymore.

Pushing her off him, Naruto maneuvered his way out of the room only looking back to see if Okoi had any intentions of jumping on him again. The girl in question was a step behind him, a smile on her face, following in companionable silence...that lasted for all of five seconds.

"I remember once when Saemon and me went hunting boar! Of course that lazy bum didn't last long and wanted to fish instead. Pssh! Who can just sit there and fish all day when you can go hunt a boar with your bare-hands!' Okoi punctuated this by grabbing at the air with both hands and then making a breaking motion as if she was breaking the boar in half. 'But sometimes, spending quiet time with Saemon is cool too."

Naruto eyed his teammate from the corner of his eye when she had moved up to walking side-by-side with him. This was the second time, the first being the previous night, that Okoi had made these kind of remarks. It made him wonder if the siblings had a relationship that was closer than just brother and sister or if they were just that close. He knew better than to give voice to these thoughts however, he knew first-hand how enraging a female at any given time could negatively, physically, affect him.

Still though, this girl was like him in some ways. Neither of them were the type to just sit around and be content. Something like fishing would never be a hobby they would enjoy. He had instantly found himself smiling as he listened to another story and he laughed along with her during some of the parts.

"You're pretty cool Okoi-san! Maybe, before you and your brother head back to your village, you and I can go hunt some of the boar that are in the forest surrounding Konoha." Okoi nodded energetically at this and brought a hand up and rested it on his shoulder, her other fisted against her hip.

"That'd be great! I hear Konoha has a place called 'The Forest of Death', there's supposed to be a bunch of dangerous animals in there, we should go hunt there too!"

Naruto thought about it, quickly thinking over what he knew about the forest from his studies, and nodded back with a smile.

"Hell yea! That sounds like fun!" He stated as they entered a large room at the end of the hall.

"And what, exactly sounds like _fun_?" A calm voice questioned, causing the two to look towards the speaker. Upon seeing the person, Naruto's eyes instantly narrowed.

There, standing an inch or two taller than Naruto remembered, wearing the standard Uchiha outfit that all the genin of that clan wore was none other than Uchiha Sasuke. Every detail about the boy that Naruto could remember about his teammate from Team 7 was exact. From the white shorts to the blue shirt with the raised collar and the Uchiha Fan symbol on the back. Dark hair looking like it was blown to the side and froze there. Dark emotion-less eyes stared back at Naruto's very expressive ones.

"Saemon!' Okoi called out as she ran up to the Uchiha and clapped him on the back. 'I'd recognize you no matter _what_ face you wore!"

'Sasuke' turned towards Okoi and gave a small smile, which would've ended the illusion for anyone who truly thought the boy standing there next to Okoi was Uchiha Sasuke.

Kisaragi Saemon's bloodline was completely different from his sisters, which also led Naruto to wonder if they were really blood-related. Naruto liked to believe that his version of the henge was the best there was; Saemon's ability at transformation shattered that belief. Saemon carried with him, at all times, a special type of clay. When he needed it, he would mold it into a cylindrical shape and then infuse it with his chakra. After that, he would take a person he wanted to impersonate and press their face into the clay. Afterwards, Saemon would press his own face into the clay's new impression and activate his technique. A few moments later and in Saemon's place would stand a perfect version of whoever he was impersonating. On top of that, he was great at mimicking voices. Unlike a normal henge, or Naruto's own version, Saemon's impersonation could take a hit and didn't require chakra to maintain. Yes, Naruto could nearly do the same thing but if his chakra was disrupted or if he was struck to a certain degree the henge would fail.

Now, as Naruto had admitted before, any other time he wouldn't been the first to agree that Saemon's ability was amazing. However, the fact that he was tasked with impersonating Sasuke, Naruto's deceased former teammate, was a bit of snag in allowing Naruto to fully appreciate the technique. The reason that Saemon was taking on the Uchiha's visage? Konoha was going to have 'Sasuke die' during the exams. It turns out that Sasuke's body _hadn't_ been destroyed before the return to Konoha as he was told. Instead, Kakashi had sealed the corpse away and brought it back. Naruto wasn't sure what was done with it, but he was sure he wasn't going to like it when he found out. He did know, for a fact this time, that Sasuke's body was truly gone now. He had been the one to set the pyre on fire.

"I apologize once again, Naruto-san, for any uncomfortableness that this impersonation gives you." Saemon stated and Naruto realized he had gotten lost in his thoughts again. That was happening a lot to him over the last couple of weeks. He shook his head to clear his mind and offered a strained smile.

"I admit that I don't like my teammates face to be used like this but I understand. The civilian villagers had a lot of hope and faith in the 'Last Uchiha', why? I doubt I'll ever know, but having him die on his first mission out of the village would've been a huge blow and the fact that I was his teammate would only make them lash out against me. Either because I didn't protect him or that I wasn't the one that died instead."

"Or that they think you killed him instead of the enemy!" Okoi added cheerfully. Naruto gained a tic-mark and Saemon shook his head in exasperation.

"The three of you have been briefed thoroughly on how these exams will be conducted. The only part you weren't told about is the second phase of the exams. It will be held in the Forest of Death, this is where 'Sasuke' will be fatally injured. He will only make it as far as the conclusion point so that Okoi-san and Namikaze can fortunately continue with the exams. During the night, despite their best efforts, Uchiha Sasuke will be pronounced dead. Saemon will create a blood-clone that will be put in a near-death state before dispelling his technique. During the month before the finals, Uchiha Sasuke will get a public send off. The clone will simply dissolve due to the intense heat of the flames and no one will be the wiser. Is there any part of this plan that is not clear?"

The three had looked towards the speaker once his voice was heard. Shimura Danzo had entered the room and immediately began reciting the mission to them, at his side walked a man that Naruto only recognized from seeing him the night before. Muroga Hyouma was another member of the Kouga clan. He stood a foot taller in height over Danzo, he had long black hair that seemed to disappear against his black haori. Also colored black, were his kosode and hakama. Black gloves that only covered his wrists and the back of his hands. Hyomara seemed like a man that was ready to fight even though he was merely an escort for Saemon and Okoi, the one part about the man that had Naruto curious was that Hyomara kept his eyes shut. Not like Saemon, who like Naruto, seemed to squint all the time; Saemon's facial features being more relaxed however. Hyomara, though, visibly appeared to be forcibly keeping his eyes shut. Naruto could only guess it was a dojutsu of some type, but the guy didn't look like a Hyuuga or an Uchiha, despite the dark hair.

When Danzo had finished outlining the mission the three teammates all bowed their heads and answered.

"Understood Shimura-san/Danzo-sensei."

The one-eyed man nodded before turning to his companion. Hyouma seemed to be looking at his clan-mates, though his eyes were still shut.

"The two of you know what's at stake. Saemon, you're mission gains silent favorable light from Konoha while Okoi's performance in the finals will gain us missions redirected to by Konoha."

The two Kouga-nin nodded determinedly and Naruto received a calculating look from his sensei.

"Do not hold back whatsoever Naruto. You will make sure that no one has even the slightest doubt that you are the last of your parent's clans. You are Uzumaki, you will honor your ancestors by using your fuuinjutsu skills at least once in the finals. You are Namikaze, you will honor your father by decisively winning in the finals. Whether they are an old friend or a pathetic nobody, you will _beat_ them. Understood?"

Naruto nodded, gritting his teeth as he did so. He was already psyched up now and found that he couldn't wait a whole month to get to the finals. He had to sit through the written test of the first exam and then the second phase, though he could get some action there, but he wanted to fight now! Damn, but Danzo-sensei knew how to press his buttons to get him amped up.

"Very well then, let us depart." With that, the two older men led the team out of the room and towards the exit of the base. Naruto didn't know what was to during the course of the exams but if there was one thing that he _did_ know it was this: Konoha better get ready.

Namikaze Naruto was about to make his debut.

* * *

><p><strong>Short, once again, but I think I can be forgiven because it was only yesterday that I updated chapter 6. <strong>

**Anyhow, someone said that Naruto needed to start maturing already.  
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**Not sure if they meant that as a general statement or if they wanted to see it happen now. Whichever way it was meant know this, Naruto has only been training for a few months. He _has_ gotten stronger, yes. He's on the same learning curve that he has in canon. Meaning that when given someone that is willing to teach him, and after getting the steps down in an exercise, he picks up the new technique or what-have-you faster than normal people.  
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**Naruto isn't going to be super-OP. He's simply going to be a jinchuuriki that has actually been trained, much like his counterparts in the other villages.  
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**There will be times that Naruto seems to have matured and will talk or act as if he was far older than he actually is. Don't take this to heart. Naruto has simply learned more. He has been upgrading his vocabulary, he has been learning things that he should've in the academy (kage-bunshin, go go...-.-)  
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**Despite all these advances in knowledge, Naruto is still 12 years old right now. He's still a kid. Yes, he's killed already. He's actually killed a lot more than any normal genin should've considering the times that the Nations are currently living in but he did it for a reason. Naruto will sometimes use words that most readers would think that he never would, but think of it like using a thesaurus to say a word better. That's basically what Naruto does a lot, especially whe he's writing in his journal.  
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**When talking with friends though, he will often revert to slang words or immature actions.  
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**One last thing. Saemon, Okoi, and Hyouma are NOT OC's. I'm also going to try to keep OC's to a minimum if they even show up in this fic.  
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**Saemon and Okoi are from an anime called Basilisk. Check it out, great anime/manga. They are at a time in their lives that is far before the actions that take place in Basilisk, meaning they are younger. Originally I was going to have Sai and Shin be Naruto's teammates but I remembered that I hadn't resolved some issues with Sasuke's death and the rest of the village. So, this is my way of doing so.  
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**Did I forget anything?  
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**CD the XPG~  
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	8. Rocky Start

**First off, I want to say that it will most likely be inevitable that I disappoint a few or more of the already few readers that I have. This is my first fic, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it when I started it. I'm still not sure but it has gone up from "no clue" to "fuzzy picture".**

**I know sometimes I skim over things or completely forget a point that I, myself, made in a chapter. I catch myself in the act 51% of the time and incorporate it later on or in the next chapter. Or try to.  
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**re: no beta.  
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**I am also not trying to overwhelm myself by switching POVs every other paragraph. As far as Sakura's, and the other rookie's, reactions to Sasuke's death, I think I'm going to do a few one-shots or a mini-series off to the side in a new fic. Just brief glimpses into each of their lives. I don't really like when a story just cuts away to reveal everyone elses reactions, especially when the author ends up not even bringing those characters to mean more than C-list support. Always seem like the author is just trying to up their word count in their chapters by making lengthy lists of training schedules, everyone's personal thoughts, what's happening with Akatsuki. etc.  
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**Speaking of which, for the most part, the reader will be in the dark as much as Naruto about Akatsuki. There will be a few canon scenes, like the first time they meet (maybe), but nothing that will actually give away their current or changing plans. I'd rather leave it a surprise than just give it away and have you thinking "c'mon! get to that part you were just talking about!" that just takes away from the current chapter; I know from personal experience.  
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* * *

><p>"Well. That was, um, interesting." Naruto stated nonplussed.<p>

The Uzumaki and his temporary teammates had split off from Danzo and Hyouma almost immediately after exiting through one of the many tunnels that led to the underground ROOT base. As soon as Naruto couldn't sense either man any more, which wasn't saying anything considering his poor chakra-sensing abilities, he quickly convinced his teammates to follow him to eat before heading to the the academy.

Neither Saemon nor Okoi had a problem with Naruto's suggestion which made him infinitely happy, visibly. The two exchanged more than one glance as they eyed the young Konoha-nin who almost literally seemed to be floating down the street in a state of bliss. It hadn't taken them long to reach the modest-sized ramen stand and to finally understand the blonde's demeanour.

"He eats more than Jousuke, I think!" Laughed Okoi as she finished her second bowl. Saemon had nodded silently as he set his own second bowl atop his first, clasping his hands and bowing his over them and thanking the two ramen chefs. Naruto on the other hand, had just polished off his eleventh bowl and was raising a hand to order another when Saemon had reached out and pulled the hand down.

"I believe we have used up enough of our time that will be needed to ensure our participation in the Chunin Exams, Naruto-san." He stated clearly before standing up, placing money down for his meal and heading towards the exit. Okoi had slurped up the rest of her ramen and followed her brother's example yelling out a 'Thanks for the meal!' towards the Ichirakus. Naruto grumbled as he pushed his empty bowl forward and took out his frog-shaped wallet to pay for his meal.

"Interesting teammates you got there Naruto-kun.' Teuchi spoke up as Naruto fingered the bills in his wallet. 'Coulda sworn you had a different female teammate though."

Naruto knew the man wasn't exactly fishing for information but there was no harm in revealing this much.

"Ah, well Sakura-chan had a small breakdown during our first mission. She's up for review and Kaka-sensei doesn't know if she's going to be able to rejoin the team.' Naruto trailed off as he realized that he hadn't seen the pink-haired girl in quite a while since their return from Wave. He had stopped by every other week when he could, but either she was asleep or she was just the same as that first night. 'But! I know Sakura-chan will return to Team 7 and everything will be the same! So don't worry Teuchi-ji! She'll be back before you know it!" '_Liar'_.

The ramen chef laughed heartily and waved farewell as the genin raced off to catch up to his team. Team 7 had arrived at the academy to the scene of two boys standing in front of a small group of genin impeding their path into the designated room. At least, that's what Naruto had thought at first. When he recognized the telltale signs of a genjutsu he motioned for his teammates towards the familiar stairs off to the side. The two Kouga-nin had recognized the illusion as well but had remained silent, relying on Naruto's experience within this building to guide them.

Then, after that, was when everything went slightly pair-shaped.

A slightly older genin in green spandex, a bowl-cut hair-style, and large eyes that only enhanced the large bushy eyebrows that hung above his eyes and seemed to just be waiting for a chance to strike...Naruto shuddered. This kid offended nearly every one of Naruto's senses. The reason for the boy's appearance? To challenge Uchiha Sasuke.

"You are Uchiha Sasuke are you not? This years graduating top Rookie?"

Saemon had turned towards the boy and simply nodded. The Green-Thing seemed to vibrate with energy at this as he took a fighting stance.

"YOSH! I am Konoha's Beautiful Green Wild Beast! Rock Lee! I hearby challenge you to a spar to see where I stand against the genius Uchiha Sasuke!" Lee roared.

Team 7 exchanged glances and Naruto was feeling that he might actually have to be the one to diffuse the situation when Okoi put a hand on his shoulder and began tapping on it. ROOT training kicking in, he instantly recognized the morse code and slumped slightly. Lee was a fellow Konoha-nin; excitable, weird, and offending to the eyes, but a fellow nin nonetheless. He remained silent however and allowed what was about to happen, to happen.

Saemon stepped forward silently and fell into a defensive stance.

"In our village' Okoi's voice seemed to be right near his ear, speaking in a soft whisper. 'Saemon is the best at hand-to-hand. He is much like your village's Hyuuga shinobi. I've seen him defend himself against eight skilled fighters at one time. This fight will be over in a few moments."

_Moments_, that's exactly what the fight was. A brief series of moments. Lee launched himself forward with incredible speed, dropping low to the ground and shooting a leg out in order to sweep Saemon's out from under him. A feint, no doubt, in order to get Saemon into the air. It was really simplistic...

Naruto groaned internally as he replayed his last thoughts. It was strange thinking of fights like this now. He had always been one to just jump in and start throwing punches and hoping to overwhelm his opponent, not wanting to think about it; just do. A loud snap and an anguished cry of pain echoed throughout the room.

Surveying the now-broken leg of Rock Lee, Naruto supposed making his brain work for more than just remembering the simple things was a good thing nowadays. Saemon hadn't responded to Lee's attack like anyone else might've, instead, he had raised one of his legs at the last moment and then viciously brought it back down right atop of Lee's attacking limb. The angle that the leg had been in and the sudden and strength of the counter-attack had left no doubt what the result was going to be.

Saemon straightened himself out and bowed towards the fallen genin, he then turned back towards his teammates and walked passed them. Okoi eyed Lee for a moment before shrugging and followed after her brother.

"Well. That was, um, interesting." Naruto shook his head as he followed after his teammates.

* * *

><p>"So, I heard there was a little trouble on your way here. Anyone care to fill me in?" Hatake Kakashi stood in front of the double doors to the exam room, an orange book in his hands and his nose buried in it.<p>

Saemon stepped forward and reported without hesistation. "I was challenged by a genin by the name of Rock Lee. I made the call for our team that it would be best to take out a potential rival team now instead of later. Either way, it is a team we do not have to worry about."

Kakashi sweat-dropped at the straight-forward response.

"Right, well, for your information. Rock Lee did indeed get his team disqualified. His leg was too broken to be mended any time soon. His teammates are none-too-happy, needless to say."

"Then why'd you say it?" Naruto interrupted, prompting a small rock to shoot forward from Kakashi and smack the center of the young genin's headband causing him to cry out in surprise. Okoi giggled at that and Saemon remained silent.

"As I was saying. Lee refused to reveal who it was that caused his broken leg, all he revealed was that he challenged someone that he believed he could at least match and was proven wrong." Saemon's eyes sharpened at that and his head lowered a bit. Okoi nodded with a smile and Naruto couldn't help the grin on his face, even if he felt a bit more guilty now.

"Though I regret that I had to learn of his character in this way, I do not regret taking him and his team out of the exams this early. He was easily too eager to fight, even if he believed he knew his opponent. I did not fight the way he expected I would, and caught him off-guard. His teammates obviously did not care enough about him if they would allow him to go off on his own." Kakashi sighed before shrugging his shoulders.

"Anyhow, it's time for you to enter the exam. I'd wish you luck but, with the synergy I've seen between the three of you since only yesterday, I doubt you need it." With that, the jounin moved off to the side allowing the three to move forward. As Naruto stepped passed him, Kakashi reached out and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto. I just want to say that I am very proud of everything you've accomplished in these last few months. Your parents would be just as proud. All I can say now is that, your father would not want you to hold back unless it meant there was no reason to go all out. Your mother, on the other hand, would probably tell you to strike fear into the hearts of millions while laughing insanely and holding up a bowl of ramen as your weapon of choice." That said, Kakashi vanished in a swirl of leaves leaving a rapidly-blinking Uzumaki.

"I don't get old people; and I doubt I ever will." He grumbled as he stepped into the room.

"Sasuke-kun!" Came a shrill cry from his right, followed by a purple and blonde blur that headed straight towards the disguised Saemon. Said Kouga lashed out with lightning-quick reflexes and grabbed the blur before swinging around and using the blur's own momentum to send it into the wall to the left. Slumping down in shock and not a little bit of pain was Yamanaka Ino.

"Let us move towards the front." Saemon stated, getting a nod from Okoi. Naruto made to move forward, after looking at the downed Yamanaka for a moment but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. '_Honestly!'_ he thought, it was as if his shoulder was his permanent blind-spot. Everyone was always stopping him that way.

"Naruto? Wow, it is you!" He turned towards the surprised voice and came face to face with Akimichi Chouji. A tic-mark on his forehead, Naruto brushed off Chouji's hand and took a step to the side so he was facing all of the rookies and had his back towards the wall where Ino was slowly getting up. She wasn't much of a threat and he was half-consciously focusing his attention on her for the moment, just in case. Not that the Yamanaka cared, she was still dazedly looking towards the front of the room where "Sasuke" was.

"What's that supposed to mean? _Wow, it is you_?" He questioned a bit indignantly. From behind a now confused Chouji came a frowning Shikamaru. Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Hyuga Hinata, who stayed a bit behind, also walked up as well. It was Kiba who spoke up for them.

"I don't know what he was talking about Dead-Last, but _I'm_ wondering why you're here since I heard your team took a casualty on your very first mission. At least, those are the rumors. Guessing it was Sakura, seeing as how that bastard Sasuke is here. So, what happened?"

Naruto scoffed and turned towards Shikamaru. "Since you're the one who is most curious, I'll tell you now that rumors are greatly exaggerated. Also, since Ino is on your team, you probably already know what happened to Sakura. As for the rest of you..." He didn't bother finishing as he turned around and walked towards his team leaving a fuming Inuzuka and shocked group behind. He really didn't want to reunite with his academy friends like this; being so cold to them. Kiba's words, however, it was all Naruto could do not to send the mutt through every wall the academy had until the Inuzuka hit a tree. He didn't need to turn around either to know that his back was the target of their wide or narrowed-eyes.

"You guys might want to keep it down..." Was the last thing he heard from a voice that he didn't recognize but Naruto didn't care. He reached his teammates and stood with them, eyes locked forward despite the menacing auras pressing down upon him from all around. He began to grit his teeth, his fingernails digging into the skin of his arms from where they were crossed over his chest. His eyes suddenly locked on Okoi's mischievous ones and he smirked before taking a deep breath.

* * *

><p>"...teammates are, or at least were, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke. There are a lot of rumors going around that Uchiha Sasuke died during a mission to Wave a while back and it's confirmed that Haruno Sakura is in the mental-recovery wing of the Hospital. I guess rumors are just that though, rumors. Seeing as Uchiha Sasuke is right up..." Yakushi Kabuto. A self-proclaimed seven-time taker of the Chunin Exams, had introduced himself to the rookies as Naruto had left and had showed them his Nin-Info Cards. He had asked them to provide a name or two and he'd give them any info he had on that specific person. Naturally, one of the first names was Uzumaki Naruto, it was Shikamaru who had asked first.<p>

Kabuto's data had, at first, been what they all had known themselves from the academy. They had only just gotten to the teammate section and were waiting to hear more when it hit them.

A dark, forboding pressure flooded the room and more than a few people felt themselves being pushed to the ground. Two or three of the participants had actually passed out. Of the stronger willed persons, their eyes were riveted upon the figure standing atop the desk at the front of the room.

"My name is Namikaze Naruto! Future Hokage! If one more of you sorry-faced bastards tries to intimidate me with your crappy second-rate killing intent, I wont hold back next time with my own!"

Instantly the pressure vanished and before any comment could be made a door slammed open and a thunderous voice roared out.

"Enough you brats! Get in your seats and shut up! And you! Get off that desk!"

Morino Ibiki. Konoha's Head of Torture and Interrogation. The First Exam Proctor, had arrived.


	9. No More Restraints

***Deep in ANBU Headquarters.* **

"You are quite ruthless; you know that, don't you Hiruzen?" Danzo commented dryly. Hiruzen 'hm'd' from where he stood in front of the one-way mirror but otherwise remained silent. Hyouma, who was sitting in a chair against the wall behind them, hadn't said a word when the three men entered the room. It wasn't as if he could make any observations anyhow, being blind had that kind of effect. The two older men continued watching through the mirror as an operative entered the room on the other side of the mirror.

"To think I questioned your sanity when you allowed the civilian portion of the council to sit in on Hatake's debriefing after that Wave incident. I always wondered how long it would take you to snap and rid Konoha of these leeches." The crippled veteran spoke again after a few moments of silence. Hiruzen frowned.

"They are human beings, just like us. However, unlike us, they only know what it's like to live amongst men, women, and children that are capable of inhuman feats of strength. They live with the fact that they will never be as strong as even the greenest genin. In that capacity, it is easy for them to fall prey to temptation. They let their greed get the better of them.' Hiruzen didn't so much as bat an eye when the operative in the next room took a ball-peen hammer to the prisoner's knee-cap; said knee shattered for all to hear and Hiruzen waited a moment before pressing a button under the mirror that silenced the room, cutting off the prisoner's screams.

The 'prisoner' was a councilman by the name of Ito Makoto. The man was relatively young on the council, though old enough to have been in his early twenties during the Kyuubi attack. He was the head of the blacksmith's guild, a position that he had inherited from his uncle. The Ito family, and the guild, had been a major contributor to the Uchiha clan; supplying the clan with all their weapon needs. They had taken a heavy financial blow after the Uchiha Massacre. When Makoto took his uncle's place on the council, not even ten years ago, he had been quick to try to corner the market in support of his guild. Anything that could help his family and the families of the guild, he would attempt. Most of it was beneficial to other businesses and guilds as well so many of the proposals passed into laws, however there were just as many proposals rejected because of their blatant favoritism. Makato had not been a happy person.

"It really is no wonder that he is the ringleader for the nay-sayers.' Hiruzen mused. The man should've had some tact however, being a leader meant you delegated assignments to those under you, you don't figuratively color a bulls-eye on your own back and then start engaging in illegal activities. 'He has always struck me as an opportunist."

Danzo made a 'humming' noise under his breath before leaning forward and pressing the same button Hiruzen had earlier. Holding it down, he spoke into the small microphone.

"Fu. Enough. Obtain the information we need." The operative had paused in a downward swing that had the hammer aimed towards the tied up man's right hand and quickly straightened himself out and gave a nod. The operative put the hammer down and then reached up to remove his mask and the hood that covered his hair.

Hiruzen eyed the young man's now-uncovered face. Auburn eyes that matched the shoulder-length hair that Fū instantly pulled back and tied behind his head. The young man's facial features reminded the Sandaime of someone, though he couldn't quite place his finger on it. His eyes widened when Fū placed his palm on Makoto's forehead and, with his other hand, made a one-handed sign before closing his eyes.

"Yamanaka.' Hiruzen breathed. He glanced at Danzo from the corner of his eye before returning his attention to the other room. ' Care to explain?"

"He is an orphan, despite his clan. His parents died while on a trip to the capital. Young Fū had no one, and nowhere, to go. Or so he seemed to think. He doesn't have much love for his clan head." Hiruzen frowned.

"Who were his parents? How was it that I did not hear of their deaths?" There were more questions but these two were the most important. He wondered if perhaps the parents were ROOT, which would explain Fū's involvement.

"They were civilians." Danzo replied blandly. Hiruzen's shock look was immensely amusing, not that you could tell for all the emotion Danzo's face showed.

"They had never taken up the shinobi life and lived the life of a merchant. Inoichi allowed it, or at least did nothing to stop them. When they died, Fū was already of age to have joined the academy. However, he was not old enough to inherit his parent's small fortune. Inoichi seemed to think that Fū would do better living the life of his parents and would not sponsor him into the program. Fū was more than easy enough to approach and convince him to join ROOT. Of course, I had to...deter him from the path of vengeance. The willingness to kill your enemies is all well and good, but if you do it for nothing but revenge, you'll never grow."

Hiruzen smiled thinly. "Nidaime-sama said something like that once, I believe. I can't remember exactly who it was too though..." Danzo opened his single eye to glare at his rival for a moment before returning to impassiveness.

"Anyhow, I was more than pleased to find out that Fū is perhaps the strongest Yamanaka to come around since the time of the Shodaime. Fū could easily beat Inoichi and take over as clan head, if he had such desires. Be glad that he does not." Danzo said with a sense of finality, closing that part of the conversation. 'There is also of course Torune who could do the same with the Aburame, but that's neither here nor there.' Was an afterthought that he pushed away.

Hiruzen closed his eyes and let out a sigh, shaking his head. "Truly, power corrupts. The Yamanaka could've been a more powerful political foe for many of the other clans had Inoichi been more open-minded, or at least brought this matter to me. I would've sponsored the boy myself...then again, his vengeance." Danzo nodded.

"Before or after his time; another Uchiha Sasuke is not what this village needs." The two men went silent at this and watched Fū work.

* * *

><p><strong>Night Before Start-of-Exams.<strong>

"Hehehe. I knew... I knew you weren't dead." The speaker stood, eyes peering towards the only window in the room, uncaring of the downed nurse on the ground. The older woman was staring up in shock and fear, gasping for air that would not come. Blood poured out of the nurse's neck continuously, every gasping breath sprayed the red life-fluid outward onto the pant-legs of the figure above her.

"Oh! You're getting my clothes all dirty~.' The speaker cooed before walking towards the window. 'I need to go take a shower. There are two special people that really need me! Ja-ne!"

The nurse's glassy eyes followed after the figure until the person was long gone. Still, unblinking eyes stared out the window into the starry-night. They would continue to stare, until a grieving hand covered them in the morning, closing them forever.

"Why? Onee-chan. Why?" Otoha's eyes were glued to her sister's corpse; she stayed knelt beside her until a doctor found them an hour later.

* * *

><p><strong>Outside of Training Ground #44.<strong>

The genin teams had all gathered near a small outpost on the outside of the Forest of Death. A tall chain-link fence, at least twenty-feet high, was the only thing that separated the genin from the dark and ominous foreset.

"'Forest of Death'. Sure does live up to it's name." Okoi stated casually as her eyes searched over every part of the forest that could be seen. Saemon remained silent and Naruto was busy looking around at all the teams to see if there was anyone he recognized besides the genin from Konoha. Specifically, Naruto wanted to know if there were any other genin like the red-head from Suna; Sabaku no Gaara.

Naruto hadn't paid much attention during the first exam, in fact, he had only answered three of the questions. Of course he later bemoaned the fact that the test hadn't been important at all, only the tenth and final question which had been given to everyone verbally. From the start Naruto had felt nothing but minor killing intent coming from certain parts of the room after his little speech. One of which had come from Gaara. There were others, but once the test was over Naruto had blasted the room with KI once more before leaving the room, his teammates in tow.

He couldn't stop the smug grin that had come to his face once they were clear of the building at, in his opinion, '_looking so badass_'. It wasn't until later that he had realized why Gaara's killing intent seemed so familiar. It was laced with the signature of a bijuu. The Kyuubi might have had something to do with him realizing this fact...

**"Perhaps because I flat out told you that the boy held the Ichibi within him."** Came a dark, booming voice.

Yep, of course. Naruto had figured most of it out on his own and his furry friend had helped him put in the final puzzle piece. His thoughts were quickly interrupted by a sharp mental jab and the young blonde grumbled as he once more took to looking at the opposition. So far, none of the other genin felt like Gaara. This was good and bad, in Naruto's opinion. It was good that there were only two jinchuuriki here, especially since they were from different villages. It was bad, though, because Naruto wanted to put personalities to the faces of the jinchuuriki he had in his mind. He had been given profiles for all eight of his brothers and sisters, and he knew all the information that ROOT had on them, but he didn't know what they were all like. He wanted to fix that as soon as he could.

A nudge from the side brought him, once more, back to reality and he turned to his female teammate who was the owner of the offending elbow. A nod towards the front of the group caused Naruto to look in that direction.

'_Mitarashi Anko_' He thought. The Tokubetsu Jounin was the proctor of the second exam; it only made sense seeing as how the exam was to occur in the place that Anko fondly referred to as "home". No one else in Konoha spent as much time in the Forest of Death as much as the purple-haired kunoichi did; no one wanted to either.

The woman was laying out the parameters of the exam as well as laying out the rules. She held up a scroll and announced that it, and it's counter-part, were the objective before the 'mission' could be complete and the teams could head towards the tower that was located at the very center of the forest. Naruto's eyes swept across the teams once more and he mentally began checking off which ones were, to him, targets.

"Alright then! Now. Each team has a number, as you well know! Starting with Team 205, each team will enter the station behind me to receive a scroll as well as sign a death waiver. Konoha will not be held responsible for anyone that dies once they enter the forest. After 205, the next team in sequential order will go next. I swear to Kami, test me and come in when it's not your turn and see what happens!" With her final warning, the kunoichi spun around and disappeared into the little wooden shack.

After a moment Team 205 quickly entered; they stayed inside for several minutes before exiting and walking off to the side away from the other teams, no doubt to talk strategy.

Naruto looked at Okoi and then Saemon, they were Team 278 and next. As one, they moved through the crowds and entered the building. They hadn't been inside for more than a split-second before a scroll flew through the air heading at Naruto's head. Saemon had reacted instantly and plucked the object out of the air; he then calmly handed it to Okoi who slipped between her breast down the front of her shirt. Naruto looked away instantly, a heavy blush on his face.

"So you're the gaki huh? I guess I can kinda see what Hatake sees in you, though you seem kinda innocent too. Blushing like that just because of a little cleavage? Che!" Anko observed with a slight leer on her face; she had appeared almost out of thin air at Naruto's side and had an arm draped over his shoulders while her other hand was pressed against his chest, a finger making small circles against his shirt. Naruto reacted as the other three suspected he would by quickly putting as much space between him and Anko as he could, which wasn't much due to the small room.

Anko straightened up and crossed her arms under her impressive bust. "Listen up you three. One of yours...' She nodded at Naruto. 'is gonna meet up with you once you enter the forest. This is coming straight from Hokage-sama. You're being issued a mission, and you only have five days to complete it. Though that can change if the target of your mission reaches the tower before you can even find him or her. Yes, it is exactly how it sounds; though I don't know any specifics." She then pointed at Okoi.

"The scroll you have actually contains two scrolls inside it, the Heaven and Earth scroll. This isn't usually done, but...' She gestured at Okoi and Saemon 'you two aren't from Konoha and you..." She once more nodded at Naruto. 'are being fast-tracked, as I'm sure you've been told, once the exams are over. This mission is your only concern while in the forest. You'll learn more later." With that she opened up the door and yelled out for the next team, giving Naruto's team a clear dismissal.

Naruto sighed as he, Okoi and Saemon walked away from the others. Everything seemed so simple coming into this exam: avoid talking about the Wave mission, show everyone how much he had improved since the academy, insure that everyone believes 'Sasuke' dies during the exam -no matter how he felt on the subject- and finally, get to the finals and win it for Sasuke and Sakura. Now? The second exam was a mission and even if they didn't complete it, they were guaranteed to move onto the next part; he was starting to think the first exam was fixed as well. '_I mean, for a written test like that, something I'm normally bad in, to not even matter? It's like they're making sure I pass all this...do they think I can't do it on my __own?_'

Naruto was shaken out of his thoughts by Okoi waving her hand in his face with a frown on her face. Blinking he stopped and tilted his head to side questioningly.

"What?" Okoi's body seemed to shiver and her eyes gleamed for a moment before she forced them shut. After taking a deep breath and letting it out, Okoi bopped the blonde over the head.

"First off, stop doing cute things! Secondly! What's wrong with you? You've been spacing since the first exam." The trio had began moving again; Naruto had noticed that Saemon had only briefly glanced in his direction before facing forward again. It was something so Sasuke-ish that Naruto felt a pang of melancholy. Shaking off the memories of his dead teammate, he sighed as he tried to explain himself to the brunette walking beside him.

"I don't know. It's just, a lot of things have changed since...well, you know. First, having a new sensei; then all the changes that I was forced into: like my diet, clothing, and training schedule; I don't get to see Sakura-chan as much lately; and..." Naruto stopped when he nearly ran into Saemon who had came to a stop during Naruto's explanation. Slowly the Kouga-nin, who wore the face of Uchiha Sasuke, turned around; face expressionless.

"Naruto-san. I will only say this once, so please heed my words. You are a shinobi. You are in the service of Konoha. As long as you are a genin you will always have to do whatever it is that you are ordered to do by your superiors. To be blunt, you complain about the most mundane subjects. Having to change your clothing, eating habits, etc. Okoi here comes from a village that would be unsettled if they were ever given the choice to wear such flashy clothing. To be allowed to eat unhealthy foods simply because they want too. To not train their hardest every day, whether they are told to or not."

Naruto was frowning in thought as he listened to Saemon. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed that Okoi's expression hadn't changed at all, though she had been curious what Saemon was going to say in the beginning. This only cemented Saemon's words if this wasn't in the least bit surprising or upsetting to Okoi.

"To be honest, Konoha-nin are spoiled. One day, Naruto-san, you should visit a minor village. It does not have to be the Kouga, but any minor village will do. Go and observe how they live and how they function as shinobi. Afterwards, if you can still bring yourself to complain, then you can do so."

It wasn't the greatest of speeches, it wasn't delivered in a way that said "Listen or else." It was spoken in a casual way, as if the subject matter was inconsequential. Even still, Naruto felt ashamed. He knew he had changed a lot since he had graduated from the academy but even now, even after Sasuke's death and Sakura's hospitalization, he still hadn't grown up.

He wanted to change that.

He wanted it now more than anything else.

* * *

><p>The trio had arrived at their gate and even though the test hadn't started yet the Chunin guard opened the door and told them which direction to head so they could meet up with the operatives that awaited them.<p>

Naruto remained silent throughout the journey. He tried to organize his thoughts so he wouldn't overwhelm himself in trying to figure all his problems out and how he wanted to fix them. Saemon led the team through the tree-tops with Okoi close behind him and Naruto bringing up the rear. It wasn't too long after entering the forest that they jumped down from the trees and landed in a small clearing where Naruto was given another surprise.

"Kaka-sensei? I didn't know it was going to be you that was meeting us!" The blonde exclaimed loudly though he instantly ducked his head sheepishly and gave an apologetic smile. Kakashi smiled.

"You're learning Naruto. Remember, there's a time and place for everything. As for my being here, well, I wasn't supposed to be but I had something I need to say to you." Kakashi reached into one of the pockets of his Jounin's vest and pulled out a scroll which he tossed to Saemon.

"Within you'll find the details of the mission. Read it, memorize it, then burn it. As for you Naruto, I only have one thing to say." Kakashi's only visible eye closed and he took a breath. Naruto waited patiently, wondering if this was a small test; lately, anything to do with Kakashi was a test.

"Stop holding back." Naruto opened his mouth to answer in the affirmative but his jaw only hung loosely. Okoi giggled as she reached over and closed the blondes mouth with a push of her hand.

"You'll catch flies Naruto-kun." Naruto nodded absentmindedly but then quickly shook his head and glared at Kakashi.

"What the hell does that mean? I haven't been holding back at all, not in spars, and nowhere else either." He demanded to know. Kakashi only shook his head with a sigh.

"Naruto. Do you even realize that since Wave, you haven't talked about what happened besides the debriefing when we returned? Do you realize you haven't so much as spoken _his_ name unless directly confronted about it? You have been suppressing your saddness _and_, your anger. While in this forest, I want you to let it all out.' Kakashi looked over at Saemon and Okoi. 'You two, unless he's in danger of dying, I want you to leave Naruto on his own during all encounters. Naruto; I want you to let out all your pent-up anger on anyone you come across, especially your targets. Do you understand? Beat; main; kill, any and everything. Hold nothing back."

With that the one-eyed Jounin vanished in a swirl of leaves. Naruto could only stand there staring at the spot that his sensei had just been in utter shock. It wasn't until Okoi tugged at his shoulder and gestured with a nod of her head up to the treetops that he moved. The trio were once again in the treetops moving at a moderate pace. The exam had just begun, if the loud sirens were any indication, and Naruto's mind was in a frenzy trying to piece everything together to form some semblance of rationale that would explain what Kakashi wanted from him; what Konoha wanted from him; what he wanted for himself. His body, on auto-pilot, stopped alongside his teammates on a large branch and his eyes followed Okoi's outstretched arm and pointing finger to the ground below where a team of Iwa-nin were setting up what appeared to be a series of traps.

_"You are a shinobi of Konohagakure..."  
><em>

_"Get strong, get as strong as you can."_

_"It is my goal, Uzumaki-san, to make a true shinobi out of you"_

_"You are in the service of Konoha._"

_"Hold nothing back"_

_"As long as you are a genin you will always have to do whatever it is that you are ordered to do by your superiors"_

Naruto's eyes narrowed, flashing red for a moment, and he squatted down on the branch as he quickly looked over the team below. Saemon and Okoi shared a look before leaping up to a higher branch; Naruto paid them no mind.

'Don't hold back?' He thought. 'Okay. I can do that.'

In a swirl of leaves, the blonde vanished. Okoi's eyes widened and she whispered out her astonishment. "Seal-less Shunshin? Whoa." Saemon nodded and 'his' eyes narrowed in concentration as he saw Naruto reappear below, right behind one of the Iwa-nin.

* * *

><p>A few moments later Saemon and Okoi jumped down to the forest floor and looked at the back of the young blonde. Naruto's outfit was completely spotless. Not a single drop of blood had touched him. He turned to look over his shoulder at his teammates before facing forward again and walking out of the clearing.<p>

"Let's go." The two Kouga-nin followed without question.

Thirty minutes later, a team of Kusa-nin would happen across the clearing and would quickly leave the sight, images of the bloody massacre that had happened would haunt their dreams for the unforeseeable future.

* * *

><p><strong>Not too happy with this chapter, but I am two weeks behind on when I said I'd post it so, here it is. I did take my time with this, though. Way more than I usually do.<br>**

**I'm trying to keep Naruto a bit impulsive while slowly allowing his more mature side to manifest. He'll never fully let go of his childish side, though I would like to think I'll have him somewhere near Jiraiya's personality. Goofy and fun one moment; dead serious the next.  
><strong>

**Another thing about me is that I don't know how well I'd do with an action scene. So for now, I'll say don't expect a lot from me in that department.  
><strong>

**Till next time!  
><strong>

**10/14/12 I just received a message...or review? Not sure because, other than the email, I can't find it. Anyway, apparently I have been favoring Danzo too much. Not sure what to say about that except the character gets crappy treatment in canon. I've tried to keep him ground in the realm of reality while also using the information we all have from canon.  
><strong>

**As for Naruto's latest personality shift, this is an idea that came to me recently. Naruto hasn't suddenly become a BAMF nor is he becoming "an emo" like a certain anon seems to think. However, Naruto isn't being allowed to remain his canon-self. He is going to change, willingly. How far and how much remains to be seen.  
><strong>

**C.D. the XPG!  
><strong>


	10. Illusion Dispelled

Saemon sat, legs stretched out before him, with his back against a large tree. His sister was currently laid out to his right with her head resting on one of his legs; she was dead to the world. The Kouga-nin smiled briefly as he carded his fingers through her hair.

"Bleeech!" The man who was currently wearing Uchiha Sasuke's face frowned slightly in exasperation. The Uzumaki had been kneeling at the stream nearby furiously rubbing his hands with soap and, every so often, vomiting.

_'It would seem that Uzumaki was lied to.' _He 'said'. One of his hands, which rested on his sister's right shoulder, made a slow and particular pattern of beats against Okoi.

A few seconds later he got a reply._ 'I'm not surprised. Gennosuke-sama said that Danzo-san was a man to be very careful around. His words are like a serpent's tongue; forked.'_

Saemon made a humming noise as he waited patiently for his sister's long reply to end. When using the morse code they had developed, it could sometimes take quite a while to finish a single sentence. Shaking his head, the Uchiha look-a-like prodded Okoi off him and then rose to his feet.

"Perhaps, we can just speak plainly. We need to gather Uzumaki anyhow and get moving." Okoi chuckled sheepishly and quickly followed her brother.

* * *

><p>"What the hell!?" Naruto angrily muttered under his breath as he wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. He had just thrown up; again! He didn't really understand why except that it had something to do with the sickening feeling in his gut that was forcing his stomach to do somersaults.<p>

"**I resent that remark."** A voice echoed in his mind which caused Naruto to straighten.

"Kyuubi! Did you do something to me!?" It hadn't crossed his mind before but with the fox suddenly speaking up, it seemed just a good a reason as any for his current sickness.

"**As if I should be blamed because you're** **weak.**' The fox scoffed **'Honestly; not being able to handle the act of killing. I _thought_ you were becoming a better container? Tch, I was wrong."**

Naruto blinked stupidly before his ire began to rise.

"What the hell are you talking about!? I've killed plenty of times before! That team earlier can't be the reason!"

"Naruto-san." A voice spoke from behind him causing Naruto to whirl around on the spot which in turn had the effect of him losing his balance and falling into the stream much to Okoi's entertainment.

Naruto sputtered in surprise before looking up to where the two Kouga-nin stood. Saemon was staring back at him blankly while Okoi smiled.

"It seems,' Saemon started. 'that you were deceived in some way that lead you to believe that you had killed before. The vomiting and attempts to clean your hands of blood that only you can see now is proof of that. I know, I've seen it many times before." Okoi giggled a bit behind a hand and moved forward to give Naruto a hand up out of the water.

"What he means is, that was his reaction to his first kill." She said once Naruto was on his feet, not even having the decency to lower her voice. Saemon looked away for a minute and Naruto found himself smiling at finally seeing some emotion from the older teen. After a few moments however, the smile left his face and a frown replaced it.

"I...I _did_ kill before though. It was like, at least two dozen bandits. I mean, they aren't ninja and none of them were anywhere close to our ages but still! They were people too and I killed them!"

"**The three from earlier are your first kills Naruto. Get over it. You were put under an illusion to give you the memory of killing. I suppose it was done to avoid this situation, or to at least make sure you wouldn't hesitate.**"

"What?!" Naruto shouted causing the two older teens to jump back in surprise. Seeing their faces Naruto shook his head and groaned.

"Kyuubi says that I was under an illusion when I made those other kills. He thinks that it was so I wouldn't freeze up in here...or maybe that it wouldn't affect me." By the end of his statement Naruto's fists were clenched at his side and he was very nearly growling.

Saemon who had thought up a few scenarios similar to Naruto's nodded his head. "It's understandable. From your profile, you seemed to be the type of person who wouldn't instantly go for the kill when facing an enemy.' Seeing Naruto begin to grow angrier, Saemon decided to nip it in the bud. 'Think of this, Uzumaki. We have been given a mission to eliminate someone in this forest before the end of the second exam. How were you planning on doing so if not by killing them?"

All of Naruto's anger instantly left him at the cold hard truth, no matter how much he didn't like it, and he slumped. Looking up at the two he pouted.

"Can't you just let me be angry for even a little while?" He said, his lower lip sticking out and trembling. Okoi didn't stand a chance and launched herself at the blonde, tackling him back into the stream. When the two came up for air Okoi began playfully hitting him over the head.

"I told you to stop doing cute things!" Naruto latched onto the distraction fiercely and began splashing Okoi with water which she, in turn, did as well. All the while Saemon had moved back to the tree he had been previously sitting at and leaned back to enjoy a bit more of the forest with a slight smile on his face. His peace ended abruptly when he was hit by two splashes of water and as the liquid dripped off his now soaked body, he glared back at the two teens who were sticking their tongues out at him while using a finger to pull down an eyelid_._

* * *

><p><strong>Hokage's Office.<strong>

The viewing orb that Hiruzen was quite fond off fizzled out and went dark. Slowly, Hiruzen brought up his pipe to his mouth and lit it. Taking a few puffs to get the embers going, his eyes moved towards the man sitting across from him.

"So. An illusion?" Danzo grit his teeth and refused to answer.

"I must say Danzo, that when you told us that you forced Naruto to kill in exchange, basically, for Shin and Sai's lives as well as the others I had been appalled. To think, that you would use an illusion instead."

"There was no time to take the boy out of the village simply to kill of a couple of bandits. Seeing as how his cooperation is sorely needed in order to make something of him as well as fixing the mistakes of the past, I followed the simplest route to gain the required results. You cannot sit there and say that it wouldn't have been preferable for him to have actually made a kill before now."

Hiruzen let his smirk drop and sighed. "Yes. Seeing his reaction to his first kills and for him to not even know why he was reacting that way..." He trailed off as he returned his attention to his pipe.

Danzo looked down at the folder in his lap and used his good hand to flip through the pages the folder contained.

"An Uzumaki; and so close to Konoha. I wonder what relation she had to Kushina." He mused aloud. Hiruzen shook his head then let out a stream of smoke.

"None that we can find from the tests that were conducted. Then again, Kushina had only even been to the hospital a handful of times in her youth so most of her bloodwork is from when she was a child. Who knows if simply having the Kyuubi within her altered her DNA in any way. I say that because there is absolutely no blood-match between Karin-san and Naruto-kun. None of the Uzumaki markers match."

"Well, at least the in-breeding factor wont matter." Danzo offered gruffly as he continued looking over the girl's file.

"I have not yet decided how to go about intoducing the two. Karin is already aware that her life is all-but forfeit and that she belongs to Naruto-kun. However, she doesn't know Naruto's personality. Naruto-kun, of course, doesn't even know there is another Uzumaki in the village and I highly doubt he will take well to being told that he now, essentially, owns a slave."

Danzo snorted, he didn't think he had ever heard an understatement worse than the one Hiruzen just said.

"Leave it to me. I'll ensure that Naruto understands that, while they are from the same clan, they are in no way related and I'll endeavour to impress upon him the significance of repopulating the Uzumaki clan."

Hiruzen frowned. "I do not wish to force them into a relationship if that is not what they want. Karin-san might be compliant now but that could easily change and she may grow to hate Naruto-kun. That is the last thing in this world that he needs; someone of his clan hating him."

Danzo closed the folder and tossed it on the Hokage's desk as he rose to his feet.

"Hiruzen; I do not know when your attitude changed from fixing the mistakes in the boy to giving him any and everything he wants. This is life. He is going to have to get used to the downsides as much as he has gotten used to the upsides. He already knows the pain of loss and he has lived with the fact that he is alone since he was a toddler. Now, he needs to realize that his life is what he makes of it. Karin-san will become his property that he will do with as he wishes.'

Danzo moved towards the window and looked out at the village he loved so dearly that nothing was beyond him when it came to defending her.

'One day he will be a clan-head. He wishes to be Hokage still. He must learn the game of politics sooner rather than later. He will need to learn that sometimes tough decisions must be made and if such a decision is his absolute control over Karin-san's life then that is a lesson he will be forced to take to heart. He will have to one get become accustomed to the feeling of sending out his subordinates on missions that they will most likely not return from. He will one day have to order a young kunoichi to seduce and sleep with an enemy in order to gain much-needed information that can make or break the village. You set him on a certain path when you gave him to me, Hiruzen. The time for coddling is over."

The Sandaime sagged back into his seat and looked blankly across the room. It was true and he had known it before Naruto had even become a genin. The boy was a tool of the village, just like every other shinobi. The way Naruto used to be; it was horrifying. _That_ Naruto wouldn't have survived Wave had it not been for Kyuubi, and even still he wouldn't survive unless he grew up. It was a horrible truth that Hiruzen was not ready to accept. To knowingly ensure that the young boy who ran through the village with a wide-innocent smile; that declared to the world how he would take the Hokage's hat; how the boy's optimism could brighten even the darkest of hearts.

Hiruzen eyed Danzo after his last thought.

That time was over. Naruto was needed by his village and he was not yet ready.

"There is much to do, Danzo." The elder turned to look at his old rival and nodded once.

* * *

><p><strong>Forest of Death<strong>

Saemon stood in the center of his teammates looking down at the scroll that Hatake Kakashi had given them. After the impromptu water-fight, the trio had dried off and made their way back into the canopy and far from the stream in order to cover their tracks.

"So this is our target huh?" Okoi questioned as she looked at the profile picture.

"He was the one with the cards back during the first exam; you know, the guy who was talking about me and Team 7?" Naruto recalled. Saemon nodded at this, the white-haired teen had seemed off and now, due to the information they had just read, he knew why.

"A former member of your master's group. A 'loose-end'." Naruto grumbled at the 'master' part but nodded his head.

"Yeah, I remember a little bit about how he came to join ROOT. It's not really a happy story but that seems par for the course when you live in Konoha."

At the two semi-surprised looks he was now receiving Naruto pouted and pulled out his dictionary.

"I've been reading; _okay!?_ Jeez, try to up your vocab and all of sudden you get the third-degree." His muttering was put to an end when two arms snaked around his shoulders and he was hugged into a body that he was instantly able to recognize as Okoi's. Why he was able to _instantly_ recognize how her body felt...he tried not to dwell on that too much.

"Awww! Naru-kun! You're so cute sometimes! And don't worry bout it, it's okay to be smart even if people think you're otherwise." With that, and a chaste kiss to his cheek that had him blushing, Okoi pulled away and moved back to join her brother. She smiled when it only took Naruto thirty seconds to respond.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'IF PEOPLE THINK OTHERWISE'!?"

"Calm down Uzumaki.' Saemon commanded sternly. 'We have a mission to accomplish. Our target?

Yakushi Kabuto."

* * *

><p><strong>Okay everyone! I told you this story wasn't abandoned! <strong>

**Now! Firstly, I'd like to apologize for taking so long. I don't really have a reason besides laziness but I felt the urge to write again and jumped at it.**

**I know this is a short chapter but, with how I like to keep the focus on Naruto, and anything that directly relates to him (such as Hiruzen and Danzo and what they have planned) I don't have much to write about outside of dialogue. **

**I will be slowly revealing certain sub-plots for what they truly are soon; such as the two voices; the killer of Otoha's sister (though it should be obvious); why a certain someone appeared in Naruto's dream; Karin; and also getting into how Jiraiya will be fitting into Naruto's life.**

**Now, I will be working on the next chapter of my HP story, so it's going to be a while before this one is updated again.**

**Thank you to all those who have reviewed so far and I'll try to get back to this as soon as possible**

**C.D. the XPG!~**


	11. An Understanding

"Congatulations! You've passed onto the...WHAT THE HELL?! NARUTO!"

As Umino Iruka, the person that had been reverse-summoned to the Forest of Death Tower via the scrolls that Naruto had just opened, quickly hurried towards the bloody and battered Uzumaki he also took in the sight before him. Naruto looked as if he had just walked through hell itself and was obviously on his last legs. Uchiha Sasuke was currently being held between two Naruto-clones; the dark-haired youth was unconcious or at least seemed that way with his head hanging the way it was. Naruto was helping Okoi stand though it looked more like he was simply propping her up so she wouldn't fall, the girl's head was resting slightly on Naruto's shoulder and Iruka could see blood dripping from her mouth.

Just as Iruka had helped the two clones lay Sasuke on the ground after leading Naruto and Okoi over towards a bench against the wall, three ANBU and two medic-nins appeared which shocked the chunin since he hadn't yet called for assistance.

"I was the one who alerted them Umino-san." Came a grave voice and drew the attention of the scarred man and the two genin. Naruto cringed slightly at seeing Tenzo, or Yamato as he was to be called now; Naruto had no clue what the man's real name was and any attempts to find out were denied. Iruka blinked in surprise before moving out of the way of the medic-nins who rushed towards Sasuke. One of the ANBU had moved towards the other two members of Team 7 and was speaking to them in low tones.

"Yamato-san. Uchiha Sasuke is dead." Came the calm voice of one of the medics. Iruka's eyes widened in shock and he spun away from the jounin to look at the body of his former student in disbelief. It was almost surreal to the chunin. Just a moment ago he had laid out the genin and was sure there had been a pulse and now Sasuke was in a black body bag that was being zipped up before his eyes. Where did that bag come from? When was it even taken out?

"Umino-san.' The jounin called, causing Iruka to slowly turn back towards the older man. It was obvious he was in shock, and had he been more aware he would've noticed that the medics had quickly exited the room; he would've noticed that neither Naruto nor Okoi had looked in any way surprised and they had, in fact been ushered out of the room by the ANBU that had been speaking to them; he would've noticed many things but it's safe to say he wouldn't have noticed the genjutsu that was now over him.

A few minutes later Iruka's eyes blinked furiously and he stared at the fingers that were snapping in front of his face. Flushing in embarrassment, he looked back up at the less-than-amused jounin.

"Ah! I apologize Yamato-san! It's just, Sasuke-kun's death is quite the shock. I mean, he was number one in the academy. I had never pictured him being the first in his age group to die, and especially not in the middle of the village."

"It's understandable, Umino-san. Though to believe that the academy, in any way, could prepare a genin with less than a year's worth of experience for the Chunin Exams is a bit of a reach. Though I dislike speaking of the dead so negatively, it cannot be overlooked that Sasuke-san was average in terms of his clan. I'm sure you can think of at least a dozen or more of his kin who had been just as strong as him before the massacre, not to mention those that were stronger. Now, I shall leave it to you to inform Hokage-sama about this."

With that, and with no room for questions or further comments, the intimidating man walked out of the room leaving Iruka alone. As silence surrounded him, his mind began to race with what he had just seen and learned. There was also this nagging feeling that certain things didn't add up and perhaps had he more time to think about it Iruka might've come to certain realizations however the sudden appearance of Team 8 derailed his train-of-thought.

"...congratulations; Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, and Hinata-chan..." He didn't even bother to think about the fact that the trio hadn't opened their scrolls, instead he allowed himself to be mentally lead away from the events of just a few minutes ago.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11...<br>**

**[Contestant Waiting Room: Forest of Death Tower of Operations.]  
><strong>

The room itself was rather confining. All it would need would be bars on the windows to add to the visual effect of the room being like a jail cell. Naruto wondered briefly about the dimensions of the room and whether or not it had been apart of the original designs to create such a cramped atmosphere before catching himself and forcefully thinking of something else.

If someone, back during his academy days, had ever told Naruto that one day he would be thinking of anything to do with math just out of curiosity Naruto would've laughed until he was blue in the face then pranked the ever-living _hell_ out of the person for ever believing that Uzumaki Naruto would ever _willingly_ think about math.

"Math sucks." All movement in the room ceased and Naruto, suddenly remembering he was not alone in the room, flushed with embarrassment. A steady hand appearing on, and squeezing, his right shoulder brought his attention to the weary face of Okoi. She wasn't as damaged as Naruto and Saimon had been, but that wasn't to say she hadn't escaped unscathed; the bandage wrapped around her head that left only one eye, part of her nose, and one ear uncovered was testament to that fact.

_'A concussion'_ Naruto recalled one of the medics saying. _'and a hair-line fracture of...something or another'_.

"Naruto...' Okoi started, as she slowly wrapped her arms around the younger teen's neck and hugged him gently. 'Thank you. If it wasn't for you, Saimon would've been killed by that...that..." Okoi shook her head as she pulled away and moved back over to sit next to her unconscious brother. Naruto let his eyes rove over the guy who had been wearing the face of Naruto's dead teammate since before the start of the exams.

Naruto didn't really know what to think. He, at first, didn't like Saimon simply because he was using a technique to make himself look like Sasuke. Something about that offended Naruto to such a degree that the young blonde wondered if he actually hated this person he had never met before. Then, as was normal for someone like Naruto, he let those feelings go and surprisingly began to accept the foreign shinobi. Saimon may only be a few years older than him, but Naruto could understand and accept that the older teen was very wise and when he spoke then it would be prudent to listen to his words.

**'You're on a roll with all these fancy words...'** Naruto shook his head slightly and cleared his mind. He didn't have time for the fox right now. He turned his head towards the door moments before it opened and two elderly men entered. Naruto stood at attention and bowed respectfully.

"Hokage-sama! Shimura-sensei!" He started before he was cut-off by the Sandaime.

"Naruto, report!"

"Hai!"

* * *

><p><strong>Forest of Death - Several hours prior to Team 7's completion of the Second Exam.<strong>

Naruto was doing everything in his power not to freak out; to not lose his nerve. For the last day and a half he had been forced to watch the murder of everyone he held dear; a short list but devastating none-the-less.

Then, Itachi found out that Naruto knew of his parents and the images got _worse_. His father was shown to him; cruelly laughing at the hardships Naruto was forced to endure at the hands of the villagers that the Yondaime "favored" over his son. The Yondaime then ripped the Kyuubi out of Naruto only to reseal it inside him again. Sometimes the Yondaime would take out his special tri-pronged kunai and repeatedly stab the younger blonde with it.

Naruto's mother, however, had only appeared once and this was the only time that Itachi showed any hint of emotion at all since the start of this little horror show. Itachi's eyes had widened when he had used his Tsukiyomi to conjure and image of Uzumaki Kushina to torture Naruto with. The image of the redhead appeared but didn't follow Itachi's unspoken order; instead, the woman looked upon 'her' son and then slowly turned her head to face Itachi...then vanished.

Naruto did not say a word about the loving look his mother gave him before facing Itachi; it was what had allowed him to keep his composure for this long. Likewise, Itachi did not visibly react to the look of intense hatred and utter _disappointment_ that Kushina had sent him. It was the latter that had actually shaken him. He, of course, remembered the redhead who had been the only person that could truly get an emotional response out of the Uchiha prodigy; those emotional responses were usually mild contempt and embarrassment due to the older woman's pranks and crude comments whenever she was 'annoyed' with him.

Kushina had actually been something like a sensei, if not elder sister, to Itachi. She had taught him numerous tactics that she had learned from her Uzumaki heritage as well as a few fire techniques that Konoha, not even the Uchiha clan, knew. For her, even an illusionary image of her, to look at him with such disappointment...

* * *

><p><strong>Forest of Death Tower<strong>

"How could you possibly know what he was thinking or how he felt after he failed to use your mother to torture you?" The question came, not from Danzo, but from Fu. The slightly-older blonde had never really liked Naruto. Ever since the boy had been brought into ROOT, many things had changed. While that list was too long to go into, it wasn't the fact that things had changed, it was the fact that Fu felt Danzo had been _forced_ to make changes because of Naruto.

As for Naruto's opinion, the fact that Fu _showed_ his dislike towards him was a win. Naruto _hated_ the whole "emotions are useless" crap that the old man had tried to get him to adhere to.

_**'another big**_** _word'_**

So, it didn't really bother Naruto that one of Danzo's most loyal (if that was even possible for any of those boring bastards to be _more_ loyal) subordinates was openly showing emotion, even if it was negative and aimed at him.

_'Drop in the bucket'_

**_'And now philosophy? Color me_ surprised'**

"SHUT THE FUCK UP KYUUBI! Naruto blinked and then focused on the unamused elder. He couldn't tell what Fu and Torune's expressions were but the masks didn't help.

"Uh...heh heh. Sorry about that _Danzo-sensei._ Kyuubi is being a bit more talkative today." Danzo's lone visible eye opened slightly.

"Is the beast angered due to the invasion of your mind?" Naruto winced and held a hand up to his head and tried to rub away the sudden migraine.

"No, well, he is _now_ because of you calling him a 'beast'. Says that term denotes a lack of intelligence and the 'Mighty Kyuubi is the most intelligent being to have ever been unleashed upon this world'. Naruto went silent for a while and then cracked a grin. 'I just told him that for all his smarts, he got tricked and enslaved by an Uchiha and then was sealed away by not one, but three different Uzumakis. Even if it wasn't willingly in my case."

Danzo's eye closed again and he shifted; the only indication of his amusement...Naruto was pretty sure it was amusement.

"Anyhow, to answer your question Fu-lish*, _I was getting to that part!_"

* * *

><p><strong>Forest of Death<strong>

_Itachi had my _dad_ beat me up and _kill_ me for a couple more hours before he finally said something_

"Tell me, Naruto-kun. What _really_ happened to my foolish little brother?"

The question was delivered in such a way that it only served to enrage a disbelieving jinchuuriki.

"ARE YOU _FUCKING_ KIDDING ME?! YOU COULD'VE SIMPLY ASKED THAT FROM THE BEGINNING! NOT BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF MY TEAMMATES, WHO AREN'T EVEN FROM OUR VILLAGE I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW, AND THEN PUT ME IN TSUKIYOMI!...fuckin' asshole."

Itachi, had not been expecting this reply; or the hidden implications. He, being who he was, easily kept any surprise from showing to his prisoner.

"So, Danzo saw fit to inform you. I also see that the rumors of you being in ROOT are true." Naruto blinked then grimaced.

"Dammit, me and my big mouth. Yeah; yeah I know the _real_ reason your clan was destroyed, same way I know that you didn't like what you saw when you tried using my mom against me."

_And how is that, Uzumaki?_

_I'm getting to that Fu-lish! Let me freaking talk!_

_Uzumaki-san, it is obvious Fu does not like that nickname. It is illogical to continue to provoke him._

_Quiet Shino-Number-two! _

_..._"Because of my grotesque levels of chakra, I am crap at genjutsu. Can't use it, can barely dispel it. At least, not on my own..."

"'Grotesque'?" Was the only reply. Naruto lowered his head so that his bangs shadowed his eyes.

"Take care, Uchiha Itachi. You've upset me enough already, but to insult me now might be the last straw."

Itachi's eyes widened and he quickly bowed and hurriedly attempt to pacify the young powerhouse.

"I'm sorry Naruto-sama! It was a slip of the tongue and I..."

_Naruto!_

_Sorry, sorry! Hey wait! Okoi! I didn't hear you come over! How ya do..._

_Uzumaki._

"'Grotesque'?" Was the only reply and Naruto flushed in indignation and embarrassment.

"Sh-shut up! You don't even know me so you can't judge me! My vocabulary isn't complete yet so sometimes I use the wrong words!"

"Why not simply use a simple word? Such as 'large' or even 'massive'?"

"_...__everyone'sacritic_' He muttered under his breath. 'Forget about that! The reason I know what you were thinking, and how I know about the truth of your clan is something that I can't really explain."

Upon seeing Itachi _slightly_ narrowing his eyes Naruto hastened to clarify his answer.

"It's not like I'm saying I _wont_! I'm simply saying that I can't answer...simply! It's not a bloodline or something like the Yamanaka, but, it's like I can hear people's thoughts and even see a part of their past whenever I'm in a fight. It works even better if I ask certain questions during the battle that makes my opponent recall certain memories. Kinda like interrogation, I...I guess you can say, I _force_ them to show me their tells."

Itachi went silent at this and didn't even bother to show his surprise.

_Why was I never told about this, Uzumaki?_

_Well! You would've been more careful about who I interacted with in spars and all that! When I found out, I still didn't know what to think of you. Not to mention I didn't know I could do this. Kyuubi was the one who pointed it out and after I got a bit better at it, I used it to find out if you weren't going to just off me one day or something and also to keep myself safe in the event that one day you_did _decide_ _to do just that._._ Only reason I'm telling you know is cuz I got a big mouth and already let it slip, not to mention this Itachi thing is too important for me to keep this a secret any longer. _

_...that was a very clear and concise explanation Uzumaki. The fact that you had such a useful skill and despite not being fully willing to divulge the information, you made the right choice because of it's potential impact on the village. I am impressed._

_...why do I feel like you just insulted me up, down, left and center?_

"Very well." With those two words, the illusionary world of Tsukiyomi shattered and Naruto once again found himself in the forest. Looking around his eyes widened when he caught sight of the _heavily_ injured Saemon, who no longer looked like Sasuke, and the unconscious, but visibly fine, Okoi. He quickly rushed over to them and started checking them over.

"I admit, I may have been a bit overzealous upon seeing someone using the image of my deceased brother for no acceptable reason. Your teammates will live, though the shape-shifter will need a few weeks in the hospital." Naruto whirled around on Itachi completely infuriated.

"_No real reason_?! The _only_ reason Saemon had to use your brother's face was because of this damn village's rose-tinted view on your piece-of-shit traitorous clan! I may have, and actually still do, considered Sasuke my friend and I miss him, but you know more than anyone else that your clan didn't and still doesn't deserve the pedestal Konoha placed it on! The majority of the village doesn't even know Sasuke's dead! Saemon was ordered to use his skills to act as Sasuke until this part of the exam where he would be pronounced dead in such a way that it wont diminish his memory or the _reputation_ of his clan!

Itachi remained silent as Naruto once again turned away to continue checking on his teammates.

"Tch! It would've been a hard pill to swallow if the villagers found out their precious Uchiha died on his very first mission out of the village..._and by his own hand!_"

Naruto froze as he felt _his_ presence standing directly behind him. Despite the heavy impulse, Naruto remained facing forward.

"...he took his own life?" The question was spoken in a dead tone barely above a whisper.

Naruto clenched his eyes shut as the memory of Sasuke's unseeing eyes staring up at the sky...the vicious tear in a pale throat...the utter relief on the young boy's face that spoke of how much Sasuke was _happy_ to 'end it'.

"He...it was too much for him. The killing intent from Zabuza. Danzo-sensei thinks that the massacre and you using the Tsukiyomi on him that night had been the building blocks that lead to his breakdown. The KI had just been the catalyst. Sakura-chan wasn't any better, I...I only saw her and was able to stop her but Sasuke...I never would've thought, back then, that he would've ever done..."

A soft thud sounded in front of him and Naruto opened his eyes to see a scroll.

"Inside is the body and head of Yakushi Kabuto. I believe you were on a mission to kill him? Also, know that Orochimaru of the Sannin is here in Konoha. He wants the Sharingan and now I am the only one with Uchiha blood that Orochimaru will target. He has created a technique that allows him to take over, and make his own, a person's body. He attempted to do this with me a while back. He was after my brother but apparently wasn't aware of...Orochimaru isn't one to admit defeat. I am sure he had other targets in mind if he wasn't capable of getting my brother; you might be a target yourself."

Naruto turned his head and watched as the Uchiha nuke-nin began to make his way out of the clearing.

"For telling me the truth; for being a friend to Sasuke...I have repayed you, both with the lives of you and your team as well as completing your mission for you. Akatsuki, which I am apart of, wishes to collect all the Bijuu in the Elemental Nations. Jinchuuriki do not survive, once caught. Farewell, Naruto-kun."

* * *

><p>"I see. Uzumaki; You have three days until the end of the second task. Depending on the number of finalist, there might be a preliminary series of bouts in order to bring the number of contestants down for the finals. Kisaragi-san' Okoi looked up at hearing her name. 'You do not have to win, or even compete, in the preliminary if you choose not to. Naruto, you have no choice."<p>

Naruto rolled his eyes as he tossed the scroll with Kabuto's body towards Torune. He had acted like he was going to toss it to Fu but changed the direction of his aim at the last second much to the older blonde's frustration.

Okoi rested a hand on Naruto's right shoulder and gave it a squeeze before moving back to her brother's side.

Naruto watched as the Sandaime, his sensei and the two older ROOT operatives left the room before he, himself, leaned back against the wall behind him and slid down to the floor. He brought his legs up and then crossed his arms over his knees before resting his face in the crook of one of his elbows.

'_You're not the only Uchiha out there Itachi; not yet.'_

Within Naruto's mindscape, the Kyuubi opened a single eye at his host's latest thought and a wide smile full of massively-large, sharp, teeth appeared in the dark.

_**Soon...Madara!**_

* * *

><p>*edit* 1112/13 - Made some corrections, added a bit to a few sentences. Nothing really major except where Itachi cautions Naruto that he [Naruto] may be a target for Orochimaru.

*"Fu-lish" (read like foolish) just a play on Fu's name

**I live! Aha! No. Yes!  
><strong>

**So...it's been a long while. Summer is over (*cough*) and I'm back at school. I was in a writing mood this morning and I actually have class in 5 minutes so I need to go get my laundry.**

**Anyhow, I am working on the next chapter of my HP fic also on a new addtion to Random Ideas.**

**I don't know when next I shall update this chapter. I will commit now, that the next chapter will immediately go into the pre-lim matches though I haven't decided who will fight who. BUT! Naruto will unveil one of his new techniques, it's actually an answer to a question a certain reviewer had.**

**Hrm..."Thank You!" to all those who have reviewed, put this fic on follow/favorite and those who pm'd!**

**CD! the XPG!**


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